Of Swans and Silence
by Edward'sChipper
Summary: To most, Bella Swan is the image of the quintessential businesswoman. But buried deep behind a thick skin and designer clothes, she hides secrets both inside and outside the office. Until she loses a promotion, and gets a new boss. Re-edit.
1. Chapter 1

A/N:

10/30/10: For all ya wondering what in the hell I'm doing, I've poked, prodded, and polished OSaS along with the help of my new "Pufferfish", HammerHips. She doesn't want to be called the "b" word, although I occasionally call her the other b word. ;) Smoochies to her though, cuz she's nudged me hard on this one, and I love her DEARLY for it. I'm uploading the fic in chapters, as it was originally meant to be presented, and yes, it will be continuing just as soon as I finish Second Chances.

Yep, that's what I said. *squeals with readers* Thanks to all of you who have reviewed or PM'd or emailed and told me I just HAVE TO CONTINUE THIS. I mean, who am I to deny you. *smirks*

Seriously, thank you. It means the world.

Oh, and this here little ditty was the Judge's pick in the Darkella's Darkest Temptation contest.

Dislcaimer: Dammit if I don't own anything Twilight, but Edward? Edward in this fic? Oh hell yeah. And Bella? Yeah, she's all my head too. *snickers*

If you're not over 18, or you're my mother, keeeeeep on lookin' for something else. No really.

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Chapter 1

I breezed into my office at 8:00, my gunmetal Armani suit and my new favorite Laboutins, the picture of professional. My pricey attire was an attempt to hide deep within me the seething creature threatening to overcome the aloofness of Bella Swan. Not that there was anyone around at this hour who would witness it. I held one of the top three editorial positions at one of the top publishing companies in the world, _Publisher._ Since college publishing still contained remnants and attitudes of the "old boys club", I considered the fact that I still had the job an amazing feat. Most women were never able to step foot into a top corporate office, let alone succeed in it. I was hard, I was driven, but I knew how to get what I wanted, one way or another.

Last night, when the unbelievable news hit my Blackberry, I was sprawled out on my couch at home. After reading it over and over while downing vodka martinis, it finally sunk in. I muttered "Fuck!" in more decibels and inflections than were heard in Soldier Field during a Bears game. Working through the rage that burned within me was routine, but the disbelief that I had not received the promotion was a foreign experience for me.

It wasn't possible. I had not been promoted to VP of Editorial. Some cocksucker, international guru, digital god from a rival company, had been hired. I only knew him by name and never met him, but his credentials were…worthy. Although admitting it made me want to spit fire.

I alway_s_ got what I wanted.

_Always_.

Disappointment and defeat weren't in my vocabulary.

I draped my suit jacket on the hanger behind my door, knowing full well the Michael Kors slubbed jersey-knit tank I was wearing was sexier than hell; Jasper would come crawling to me as soon as he got whiff or word of my cleavage.

Jasper Whitlock was VP of Accounting for my division, and my own little whipping post. He liked it hard, rough, usually for lunch, and I had him wrapped around his own dick. A pumping room for lactating mothers on the second floor should have been renamed the fornication, or fuck room. For some reason, our company was severely lacking these days in new mothers, and I took it upon myself to make sure the room didn't go to waste. It had a lock, a nice lounge chair, and was completely out of the way. Enough so that if Jasper got too loud, which I made a point of making him, no one would hear.

I docked my laptop, turned it on, and counted as the seconds ticked by until he would be standing in my . . .

"Beller." Jasper, and the sexy, southern-drawl when he said my name, called to me from my doorway as he stepped through, closing and locking it behind him. "I'm assumin' ya heard."

I stared at my computer screen, typing in my log-in, pretending not to give a fuck. "Yes," I snapped as I grabbed my mouse and clicked open my email.

"It had ta be done. Ya know it." He tried to appease me by walking up behind me, but I kept my back to him. "The boy is hot, his competitive knowledge is unprecedented. We couldn't let an opportunity like this pass us . . ."

I spun my chair around and jumped at him, taking his balls in one hand, his chin in the other. "It was supposed to be _mine_. Everyone knew it was _mine_, even you." My eyes blazed into his, and his pupils dilated in submissive response. "No one knows this place like I do. No one. No one knows the market like I do. NO ONE gets the authors in here, the product out the door, the buy-in with the reps, like_ I_ do."

"God, Beller…" He stopped, taking a brief look at my lips and licking his own. "…ya make me want ta come in my shorts like a schoolboy when you get like this," he said, his eyes slowly going down from my lips, to the generous amount of cleavage I was bestowing today. His hand moved at his side, but I had trained him well. No one fuckin' touches me until I told them to.

"Shut the fuck up and kiss me," I said, attacking his mouth like it was it was a blood-red Porterhouse, and I was a famished lioness. With the flick of my fingers, I threw down the zipper to his pants, and wrapped my hand around his already hard cock. His hands clutched my shoulders, pinching slightly, and the pain sent a jolt of electricity down my spine, stopping between my legs.

Breaking the kiss and throwing my head back to look up in his eyes, I challenged, "This?" I rubbed my fingers up and down emphasizing my point, feeling his dick respond to my touch. "This is _most definitely_ mine."

His mouth came down hard on mine again, until I shoved him into my chair. His hands were already undoing the button to his fly, and his pants and his silk boxers were around his ankles before I could even blink. I liked him eager, but I also liked to make him suffer, so I slowly slid my black thong down and off, hiking up my skirt as if I was a shy school girl. I watched as his dick twitched repeatedly, pointing at me like I was due north on his compass. I'd never told him how it fit so…well. Biting my lower lip in anticipation, I slowly straddled him, taking him in my hand, and running my thumb over the tip of his ready-for-me dick.

"It's all yours, baby," he breathed. "Take it. Take it _now_."

I watched the darkness that was within him wash over his face like a stage curtain being drawn down. Rising up on my knees I guided him inside me, taking it all in one quick movement, just like I knew he liked it. Placing my hands on the back of the chair on either side of his head, I teased him unmercifully, slowly raising and lowering myself, knowing full well it wasn't fast or hard enough for him. His mouth came up to take mine, and I pulled back. I wanted nothing but to watch his face as it went from lust, to frustration, to anger. It always did.

"Fuck, Beller. We don't have time for games." He said, his hands clutching my ass to hold me still, as he started to thrust into me harder.

I just grinned through my bouncing.

I knew he'd had enough when he lifted me up and pushed me up against the only wall I had in my office that didn't adjoin another. While one arm held onto my waist, he pounded into me with all the strength of a raging bull, but with the quiet finesse of a stalking mountain lion, not letting my body make as much as a tap against the wall supporting it.

His other hand worked its way to my clit, my arm went up, and my hand clutched the paint and plaster behind me. "Right there, baby," I whispered. I knew it was what he wanted to hear.

His thrusts became harder, faster, his pants more like loud grunts, because his goal was always the same: to make me moan, to make me cry out, to make me scream his name.

But I purposely never did. It had taken years of training.

"Be careful, my pet. Someone might walk by…" I whispered up near his face, my lips teasingly not touching his. But his fingers suddenly squeezed my clit, and I felt the tightening of my muscles. Now it was game time, and I had to concentrate if I wasn't going to make a sound. But oh, I wanted to fuckin' come and come _hard_ after last night's news. I knew he would get me there…he always did.

Being a southern gentleman, he kept pounding me until he felt me start to clench around him. Grinding my teeth and holding my breath, I felt triumphant in not making a sound once again. My head went back against the wall as my insides squeezed around his perfect dick. With one last thrust, he spilled himself inside of me, falling into me and pushing me into the wall, his head resting on my shoulder.

I waited a few moments until I slowly brought my legs down from his hips, feeling him slip out of me. Stifling a giggle, I realized I hadn't taken off my new three-inch Laboutins to fuck him, and hid my smirk remembering they needed to be christened anyway. I wriggled out from under him and walked back to pick up my panties, sliding them up my thighs and giving him a nice view of my ass as I did.

"I need to go to the ladies room…" I started to say as the door handle to my office jiggled, and then a rather impatient knock followed.

My gaze flew to Jasper's, his face trying to conceal his panic, as he quickly tucked his shirt into his already-up pants and straightened his tie. I ran my hands through my long, wavy hair, smoothing it; thank God I'd worn it down today. Jasper hurriedly checked me and nodded, as I sat in my chair and he walked to open the door, madly hoping the plug-in air freshener I had underneath my desk covered any signs, smells, or proof of what had just been taking place in my office. I pretended to be looking at my computer screen when I heard Jasper say…

"Edward. Come in. Please." My eyes flew to the doorway.

"Jasper." He walked in, nodding in Jasper's direction, but never taking his eyes off me. For some reason, it was like time stopped, and I couldn't draw my eyes away from him. My new boss now stood feet from me: Edward Cullen, VP of Editorial. The raw power that exuded from him meshed with a subtle arrogance. It instantly sent a signal to that part of me that had just been fucked not five minutes ago. Here. In this very office.

"Isabella Swan, I'm Edward Cullen." he said as he waltzed over to my desk, reaching his hand over to shake mine. All I could think was that it was a good thing I hadn't given Jasper a handjob. I glanced at Edward's hand and then back in his eyes, standing up to meet the unspoken challenge.

I took his hand in my best firm-grip manshake, "Mr. Cullen, so glad -"

"Edward." He corrected, still shaking, and I felt an electricity shoot my arm, as my eyes roamed what I could only describe as superbly coiffed bed hair. Strands haphazardly but purposely strewn about like a contradiction, an enigma, and for a moment, I pictured my fingertips running through it. The control I had spent years learning, fostering, mastering seemed to want to go "poof!" into thin air. There was something about this man standing in front of me. It wasn't the fact that he had stolen the job that I wanted out from under me, there was something about _him_, something that spoke to me in ways I didn't want to be spoken to. I didn't like the way his green eyes seared through my soul, which is exactly what they were doing.

"Beller?" Jasper said from the doorway. I looked over at him, and then back at Edward.

"Yes, Edward. I apologize. I have…a lot on my mind this morning, if you'll forgive me." I said hastily, _too_ hastily. I pulled my hand away, smoothing down my skirt, suddenly…nervous.

_Why the fuck was I nervous? I was NEVER nervous. _

I sat back down in my chair. "Welcome to the company. Was there something that you needed from me?" I glanced at Jasper in the doorway as Edward waited, his silence an obvious message to Jasper to leave.

"I need to, uh, go check on a proposal. I'll see you both later." Jasper stepped into the hall, obviously more nervous than a whore in church.

"Yes, thank you Jasper, for running those numbers with me." I said convincingly.

"My pleasure, Beller." He smiled at me, but his smile faded as he eyed the back of Edward's head, and was gone. I looked at Edward and he had tucked his face down, his hand on his chin, an infuriating grin on his face.

He knew.

"So Edward, what was it you wanted?" He took two steps back toward the door, closing and locking it again.

_What the fuck?_

"Miss Swan, I…"

"Bella, please." I said rather impatiently.

"_Bella_." It came out like a purr, as he took a seat in the chair across from my desk, crossing one leg over the other, his hands in his lap. The grin was still on his face as he looked at the top of my desk.

"Edward, I don't know what..."

"Bella, let's get one thing straight between us, shall we?" He smiled up at me, and it was the most devastatingly perfect smile I had ever seen. "I know you wanted the position I now hold. I know you wanted it bad. I know just how successful you are, valuable even, and what you've done to get there. I know everything there is about this company, and who works for it, because I make a point in finding those things out before I accept a position."

I sat back in my chair, crossing one leg over the other, flashing too much thigh. I was trying desperately to hold on to the look of utter detachment and disinterest I precariously projected. "That's very wise of you, Edward. It's what I would do…if I ever left this company to go elsewhere." I countered, in what I hoped was a thinly-veiled threat.

He continued. "Yes, well, I'm hoping we can work past all of the drama that could interfere with…our continued success. I'm not one for drama, Bella. I like my employees, excuse me, my colleagues to be happy and productive, as well as being completely transparent with my goals and plans for all of us."

"I'm sure it will be no problem, Edward. I have no room for drama in my professional, or personal, life." I responded with an edge. It was an edge that he was making me feel. It was like he had another agenda, another reason for being in my office, the door locked, and this banal discussion was just a smoke screen for a more important goal.

"I don't like games, Bella. Plain and simple. I know you're the master. But know this. Don't ever play them with me." With that, he stood up suddenly and began walking to the door.

"And just exactly what is that suppose to mean?" I asked, half-laughing, but deep inside a shudder rocked my core.

He opened the lock, and then reaching for the handle, he turned back to me. "I know who you are," he replied, and walked out of my office.

The rest of the morning, I kept my distance from one Edward Cullen. While most of it was spent in a meeting with production, any free moment had me dwelling on his last words as he left my office.

_I know who you are._

Know who I am? What the hell did he mean by that? But my attention wavered, as I kept thinking about how the man exuded fuckhot charisma combined with steely reserve and cut-throat confidence. What could he _possibly_ know about me?

A knock at my door momentarily brought me back from my carnal thoughts.

"Hey Bella, can I come in for minute?"

Rosalie, easily the hottest blond Marketing Manager in the office, was dripping with lust for me. She turned down every man that ever crossed her path, and I loved every minute of it. She was mine, oh _so_ mine, and I never let her forget it. At first, I wasn't sure if I wanted a woman in my life let alone one more beautiful than me, but her persistence, not to mention her tongue and fingers, changed all that. She was an absolute bitch to everyone else, bitchier than me, but in the end I found out what really made her tick. I gave her credit for recognizing what most didn't know; it's what made her so good at her job – seeing market trends and shifts before anyone else. But I knew her real secret and used it to control her and her attention to my projects. Rose had a penchant for pain, and when I gave it to her, she was fucking putty in my hands.

"Sure Rose." I watched as she slowly closed my door and turned the lock. Jesus people were just comin' in left and right and locking my door. Didn't anyone realize that was what the fuck room was for?

I watched her sashay over to me. "Hey, baby. I heard this morning but this is the first chance I got to come over to see how you were doing." She bent over, sneaking her hands under my skirt to rub the tops of my thighs. I quickly jerked my chair sideways, effectively removing them and me from her touch.

"Rose, you know the rules." I said looking back at my computer. I couldn't see her face, but I felt the pouty lips just itchin' to kiss my neck.

"Bella baby, I just wanted to make you feeeel better," she cooed, as her hands glided over the back of my chair. "How about this?" and I felt her hands massaging my shoulders and I had to admit, it felt good. Rose's hands anywhere on my body felt good.

"I've taught you well, beautiful. You always sense what I need," I said as I lowered my head, feeling her roaming fingers on either side of my neck. One of them moved my hair out of the way, and over to my other shoulder.

"How 'bout this, baby?" Her lips grazed over the top of my shoulder left bare by my tank, and up the side of my neck, her tongue licking a path to just under my ear.

"Ummhmm." I wanted her to think she was helping, and she was in a way, but her touch was sending me where I didn't have time to go.

Her hands slid down from my shoulders and under my flimsy tank to cup my breasts, then her thumbs slipped underneath the scant fabric of my demi-bra to tease my nipples. I figured I had two options at this point: let her tongue fuck the hell out of me in the 10 minutes I had, or piss her off and send her away. Considering the day I'd been having, I chose the former. I knew it was what she wanted anyway.

I swung my chair around, nearly hitting her, and pulled her on top of me with her legs spread over mine. "Give me that tongue, baby. _Now_. I don't have much time and we shouldn't be doing this here." I grabbed the back of her neck and clutched her to me, shoving my tongue in her mouth forcefully, as hers danced lightly, almost timidly. I felt her fingers tunneling under my skirt, pushing away the thin fabric that kept her from her mission. I spread my legs as much as I could for her in a pencil skirt, to let her know what I wanted, even though I wasn't really feeling it. But if she could make me come in the next five minutes, who was I to argue.

"Bella." She pulled away and off my lap to kneel in front of me, pushing up the edge of my skirt. "If I need to do this fast, then I need to do it right. Slide a little forward for me, baby."

I did as she asked, glancing at my clock on the wall. She had exactly seven minutes. I shimmied my skirt up to help her, grabbing the back of her head and pushing her into me. I could feel her fingertips spread my lips apart, her tongue run from my opening up to my clit, as she inserted one finger, then two, into me, slowly pulling them out and then pushing them back in.

"That's it baby. Just like I like it." I massaged the back of her head with my fingers, pushing on it slightly more.

Her licking noises were such a turn-on for me, although I hated to admit it - like sucking on a Popsicle or licking an ice cream cone. She was a master with that tongue of hers.

I felt her slide a third finger into me, pumping faster, as her tongue pressed harder. At T and 4 minutes, my hands clutched the armrests of my chair and I felt the welcome and familiar tightening of my insides around her fingers.

My head went back, and a vision of Edward Cullen being between my legs suddenly took form, my hand wrapped in that mess of hair on the top of his head, watching as I made it even worse by running my fingers through it. My hips were moving in time with his fingers, until I felt his teeth taking my clit, and I inhaled sharply. His long, thick fingers were ramming into me, until he curled one to hit that oh so special target of mine. My lower body shook against the continual assault on my clit, leaving me panting. It's the most noise I had made in years.

I opened my eyes and realized I had completely just got off to Rose's fingers and a vision of Edward. I nearly started giggling.

Rose interpreted my smile as sheer satisfaction on my part, as she slid up my lap to sit back on it, keeping her fingers on my clit for a few minutes longer.

"Well done, baby. Thank you." She looked at my lips, and I nodded slightly to give her the ok. Her lips came to mine slowly, her questioning glance back into my eyes a sort of secondary submission, until her tongue slid over my lips and into my mouth, letting me taste myself. Her tongue was like satin, and I greedily sucked in into my mouth. She pulled back, bringing her fingers to her mouth, and sucking what was left of me on them.

I eyed her passively. She so wanted to please me, and in many ways she did. But…

"You have to go, beautiful. I have a meeting in 2 minutes that I gotta get to, and I have to stop in the bathroom." I smiled at her.

"Ok. Call me if you need me…later." She winked, and nearly skipped out of my office. I sat back and sighed. Twice in one day. Maybe I should not get promoted more often. I grabbed my files and notepad and headed to the bathroom and my meeting.

I came back to my office after the hour and a half meeting with our Digital group, and felt like slamming my fist through a wall. Fucking tech-dweebs. If they fucked one more thing up…

I sat in my chair, dropping my files and notepad in front of me, letting my head go back on the edge of my chair. I'd had two orgasms today, and I still felt like a coiled spring. I unlocked my personal drawer, and grabbed my cell out of my purse. The number was on my first speed dial.

"Emmett, set things up for me tonight. I want someone new."

"That's good, Your Majesty, because you've been requested."

"Requested?"

"Yes. A client has just relocated, and wanted the best. So naturally…"

"Good. Thanks, Em. I'll see you at my normal time. Be sure to have everything…ready."

"Of course, Your Majesty. Look forward to seeing you."

I opened my drawer, throwing my phone back on top of my purse, relocking everything. Someone _new_. I clenched my thighs together just thinking about it. Whoever he was, he would get the introduction of a lifetime.

I started to check the email that had come in when I'd been in my meeting, when my thoughts turned yet again to that prick, Edward Cullen. I needed to find out what the hell he meant by his parting statement, but I also had to tread very carefully. I could effectively fuck myself out of a job if I screwed this up. Not that I wouldn't be wanted elsewhere. I usually got three calls a week from competitors asking me to jump this sinking ship and come work for them.

But I wasn't stupid. I had a nice set-up here. Aside from the promotion, I couldn't complain about my responsibilities, my reputation, or my ability to motivate my staff into having the top-producing list in my division. I didn't fraternize with the help, except for Jasper and Rosalie, of course, and the reason I had chosen them was their ability to keep secrets. I kept up my social appearances for career sake. My past was checkered, yes, and my climb to the top assisted by the shoulders of a few. Nothing any other man in my position wouldn't have done, probably did, and got a pat on the back for doing it.

But my private life was my own. No one could possibly have a clue…

_Could it be…could he know…about that?_

No. Absofuckinglutely not. I was near manic about covering my bases, and my little piece of Heaven was very discreet. I didn't know what type of man Edward Cullen was, but he couldn't have that kind of clout, that kind of rep, to get that sort-of information on me. There was no trail, no evidence. Hell, I didn't even use my real name.

But then I pictured him. With me. There. My fingers pulling on that golden copper hair just the icing on the evening for me, those green eyes shut in reverence and agony, and my legs crossed yet again to maneuver away the tightness there that my fantasy created.

I had to figure out a way to earn his professional trust, and then move in for the kill. He wasn't going to be easy, probably the biggest challenge of my sexual conquest history. Which made the thought and the outcome that much more satisfying.

I sat back and grinned like the Cheshire-cat himself. A challenge. If I couldn't have the position, Edward Cullen would assume the position. I laughed out loud.

"Yesss." I half-hissed. The succulent lamb led to the slaughter, laid out on a platter, for the lioness.

But Jasper would be pissed. In the two-seconds I took to think of him, I realized it didn't matter. Jasper was nothing but a fuckbuddy. Granted he knew all of the right buttons to push, and when not to push them, but he was a pansy, really. It's why I took him on. So easy to mold into what I needed him to be.

Then there was Rosalie. I smiled. Rosalie was so enamored with eating me out, she wouldn't care as long as I made her come periodically in return. Besides, I could always keep Rosalie during…throughout.

As soon as I was through with Edward, Jasper would undoubtedly come crawling back. I would have to work my charms, hard, but they'd never failed me before. Playing the role of smoted female would have his southern balls returning to me like bees to anything sweet.

Edward Cullen. I smiled again. There was something about him, something I couldn't peg, but whatever it was, it made my already-wet, thin-strip of a thong get even wetter. Need was too weak a word. I wanted to own him. Body _and _soul.

I _always_ got what I wanted.

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A/N:

Damn if I don't love a strong Bella. Let me know if you do too. ;)


	2. Chapter 2

You might be able to tell that things get a little...interesting in this chapter. If you're not over 18, or if you're my mother, I HIGHLY suggest you find something else to read.

Disclaimer: Nope, still down own it, but I _would_ like a taste of Rob's...*grins* well, you know.

***Bella's playtime playlist**:

"Master" – Nine Inch Nails

"Spoonman" - Soundgarden

"Tyrant" - The Bravery

"Only" – Nine Inch Nails

"Antisaint" - Chevelle

"No One Loves Me & Neither Do I" – Them Crooked Vultures

"Closer" – Nine Inch Nails

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Chapter 2

I left work still frustrated with the day's events, and unable to restrain my thoughts from the enigmatic Edward Cullen. The self-assured smile, the fuck me hair, and those eyes. Damn those green-as-a-perfect-Emerald eyes. I didn't trust him as far as I could throw him, but more so, I started to have this feeling that I didn't trust myself. The mere admission made me even hungrier to fuck with him and get him out of my system. Leave him wanting. I raced as much as one could race against traffic in my favorite toy – an Audi TT – to get home, drink, and get ready for my evening. My condo was easy enough to get to from work, just south of the loop and near UIC. It afforded much of the pleasures of living in the city, without being in the overly popular, anywhere-near-Wrigleyville areas.

In fact, if I was being honest, it was a fucktastic condo, with a balcony that looked northeast where I could see the lake and even Navy Pier in the distance. I'd had it completely redone a year ago, all the amenities, all the conveniences, all the toys.

But the one rule I had about my haven? I never played at home. Rose had come over only twice, because I controlled her and the situation. Besides, she had a second bedroom entirely devoted to her peculiar tastes. With Jasper it was…different. Most of the time he and I liked to find new places, somewhat public, but out of the way. The thrill of being seen or caught, and the rough way he always took me only added to our combustion. He knew my penchant for games and always tried to please. Any other guy who breached the doors of this sanctuary usually left with a rough fuck and handshake from me. Most of time, it was if Jasper or Rosalie were away on business. _No, I'm not cooking you breakfast. Get the fuck out._ It goes without saying I didn't see many of them again, their pussy-whipped dicks between their legs as they left.

I dropped my briefcase and purse in the doorway, and made a beeline to my kitchen to make my signature drink before heading out to Heaven. Grey Goose, extra-dirty, blue cheese olives. Extra dirty, just the way I liked _them_. I turned on the condo-wide stereo system to some mood music. Nine Inch Nails.

I took two sips and brought the drink with me into my bedroom. I needed to shower and prep beforehand. Shit, I hadn't been this excited since… I honestly couldn't remember. Maybe the first time? No, the first time I'd been nervous. Maybe the third time. Throwing my clothes on the bed, I stood in front of my full length mirror. The Brazilian I'd gotten the week before had done its trick, making both Rose and Jasper happy as kids at Christmas when they had seen; not together, of course.

I let the hot water flow over my body and then my head. I ran my hands over my arms, my breasts, down across my stomach and between my thighs. New hands would be covering this territory tonight, and the familiar pulling in my gut made me grin.

I couldn't get my normal, run-of-the-mill clothes on fast enough, grabbing my bag from its hiding place in my walk-in closet. It held my rather elaborate costume, and a few other toys I usually brought along with me. Heaven supplied everything else, including the entertainment.

I took the El to the club, a rather dreary but untraceable method of transportation around the city. I used my key to the alley door, and walked in on my way to my own personal dressing room – the amenity reserved for the most respected clients.

"My Queen," Emmett bowed as he spoke, standing outside my door waiting for me. Emmett was like a well-sculpted bouncer, badass bodyguard, and knowledgeable bartender all rolled into one nice package of eye-candy. I'd been trying to get him to let me introduce him to the upstairs playrooms for years, but he took his job seriously, and I couldn't sway him. Pity. He was like a big brother, but I knew little about his life outside these walls.

"I'm assuming the necessary paperwork and Confidentiality Agreement have been taken care of?" I asked, walking through the door.

"Yes, your Majesty. Your new servant awaits you, fully prepped. I think you'll find him quite…to your liking." He said as he smiled at me.

"Thanks, Emmett. I'll be in in 5."

He shut the door behind him and I began pulling out of my bag all of my necessities, including my red satin with black-trim, lace up-the-front corset and matching black thong. I dressed carefully but quickly, the final adjustments my hair pulled back, the most perfect red lip gloss, and my carefully crafted mask. While I'd often thought of getting a wig, I liked my real hair to taunt them, and when I ran it across their hard and sculpted abs, or accidentally down over the taut skin of their shoulders, it was my own personal method of torture. I inspected myself one last time in the mirror, and went to meet my new subject.

I opened the door and walked in, spying him kneeling on the hard floor, no pillow, his head hung in abject adoration, and I held back my grin. Very, very good. My eyes roamed over his body, salivating at its perfection. The defined biceps, pecs, and abs were readily visible. The black silk boxers he wore left only a little to the imagination, although most of it was still hidden by his position on the floor. This one piece of clothing, this loincloth, was my only request if they wanted to be with The Queen. I didn't like to fuck around with the leather, or vinyl, or the numerous get-ups that really only impeded my view of their skin. I liked to see the effect I had on them as soon as I had it, and I like easy access to what I wanted most, even if I punished them for it and made them wait.

I closed and locked the door behind me, walking to a table and setting out my toys amongst my collection of the clubs. Emmett having been extra careful in including all of personal favorites. I grabbed the remote, and turned on my CD of mood music.

"You are free to speak. Do you have any questions for me?" I asked in my most authoritative voice.

He just shook his head back and forth, keeping his gaze to the floor. It's then I noticed his rather peculiar mask. It covered every inch of his head, except for what I found to be the most fuckincredible red lips. I'd never seen anything like it before, and the mystery behind the mask lit a fire deep within me. His face, his eyes, his hair were completely hidden from me, the eyes covered by a mirrored material that he must be able to see out of, but I couldn't see in. The only things that were exposed were those red-delicious lips: well-defined, luscious, and totally kissable. I wanted them sucking on me as soon as his body buckled in pain.

"You should address me as your Queen, or Your Majesty, but only when given permission. Do you know the safe words?" I walked up to stand directly in front of him as he nodded his head in affirmation.

"Good. How shall I address you if the need arises?" I was going to make him talk. I needed to hear his voice.

"I'm Yours, Your Majesty." He finally said.

"Yours?" Wow, that was kinda hot.

"Yes, Your Majesty." I took a walk around him as he said it, and the view sent flames through me.

"On your feet." Oh, what I didn't want to do with him now. He rose up, keeping his eyes down, and I finally got a look at what was to come. Already stretching out of the silk, his cock was semi-aroused, and it was all I could do not to reach out and touch it. With the remote in my hand, I lowered the cuffs from the ceiling, carefully locking one wrist and then the other, digging my fingernails over the skin of his pecs as I walked by. Pressing another button to raise his arms, I made sure the movement was slow, deliberate, as I wanted to see how far I could actually stretch him. I looked down to see his dick even harder through the thin, silk of his boxers.

"So Yours, you're mine for the night. No more speaking from you, unless I tell you. Not. One. Sound. If I hear a peep, I punish you. Those are the rules. Understand?" I goaded.

He just nodded. "Good boy."

It was finally time to start, so I walked over to him and took his dick in my hands, squeezing slightly, as his lips twitched ever so slightly. He was going to be tough. "I have my own brand of…fun, Yours. That's part of my charm. I don't always play by the rules." I let my hand slowly fade across his hip, around to his ass. It was a nice ass. A very nice ass. My fingernails began a trip from his right shoulder, down across his back, until I carried them back around to his flat stomach. He didn't even move.

"I see your experienced, Yours. While I like that, I'm going to have to try harder to break you." I purred, taking the remote and stretching his arms just a hair farther. His bicep muscles stretched, as well as those along his shoulders, torso and abs. I had to admit it was quite a view. From my table of toys, I thought maybe I should start slow, even though he seemed quite controlled. So I picked up the nipple clamps and walked over to stand so close to him that he could feel my breath on his face.

I stood on my tiptoes to whisper in his ear. "You know, Yours, anticipation is as much the torture as the actual pain coursing through your veins." As I said it, I let the nipple clamp close darn hard, watching for his reaction: only a slight intake of breath. So I turned the screw a corner of turn. Again, the corners of his mouth twitched, but that was all, so I clamped the other one on, this time turning it another quarter, waiting, watching. Nothing.

I stepped back to look at him, and realized the pulsating between my legs was turning into a major distraction for me. I hadn't had a newbie in a while, but this one, this David crafted of fine marble, was something more. There was a rockhard steeliness that seemed almost impenetrable.

I went over to my table and picked up my next option. Taking the spiked cock ring, I slowly slid it on, tightening it around him, and running my hand over him as the tiny spikes drove into his dick; this time his mouth opened with a gasp, but still no sound.

"Hmmm." I smiled as I watched his face change back to flaccid acceptance. He was magnificent, and I was already wet. I reached up my fingers and ran them over those rose-hued lips of his; I ached to feel their mysterious texture against my own. As I did, they parted, and I slid my finger in his mouth over his teeth. He didn't bite it, nor did he close his lips around it. Fuck he had balls of stone, but I was getting impatient. Normally I liked to play with them until they gasped for breath, but for some reason _this _one I wanted capable of fucking my brains out.

"Yours, although I do realize the great pains you're taking to keep quiet, it's rather making me angry that I haven't made you …"

"My Queen, it was my understanding…"

"Ah! What were the rules, Yours?" I hissed. Maybe he _wasn't _experienced. Now we were getting somewhere.

"No…"

"That's TWO!" I commandingly yelled. I walked back to the table, and picked up my favorite toy.

I walked to stand in front of him again, setting my toy on the side of the bed. I knew he'd seen what I'd chosen, and I could only imagine his eyes behind the mask. Seeing their eyes was a useful tool in judging just how far to push. I didn't have that luxury with my newbie, and I rather liked it. "You had your chance to speak in the beginning, _Yours_. If there was a _misunderstanding_ between us, that was the time to voice it. Now I'll have to punish you for disobeying."

I pushed the button on the remote for a quick release of his arms, knowing from experience the pain that would course through them as they came down.

"Lay on the bed face down, arms above you outstretched, but keep your feet on the floor." I instructed. I watched as he turned, crawling his torso halfway up the bed, reaching his arms out wide. I also noticed how careful he was with where his nipples and dick went. It was even harder now, and its size made me giddy. I was sure the spikes that pressed it against were driving in.

I grabbed a cuff from the side of the bed, wrapping it around his wrist tightly, crossing to the other side of the bed and doing the same to his other wrist, adjusting the tension of both chains from a dial on the wall, until his arms were straight out and tight, and his body hovered slightly over the bed. As I walked back around, I stood directly behind him and tugged his shorts down, and this elicited a slight movement from him and another sharp intake of breath. But no sound.

I picked up the flogger and went to stand beside him. "Yours, I will be giving you 10 strikes, plus 2 for your disobedience. You will count out loud each one as they hit. Understand?" He hesitated for only a second before nodding, but it was long enough for me to determine that he was having second thoughts. His hands found the chains that held his cuffs, clutching them.

"Do we need to review the safe words?" His head shook back and forth again, this time faster than his affirmative answer, but I could sense his fear as if it were his blood flowing into me. Finally.

I started off easy, sending a whack across his ass cheeks, making him jolt.

"One." His obedience was quickly followed by another, to which he responded appropriately, and I crossed to the other side, sending two more whacks down on his skin. His response was quick but his composure slipping.

I sent four more across the back of his thighs, two more onto his lower back, and then came back to his ass. The red marks were beginning to appear, and I would need to soothe them soon.

"I'm checking-in, Yours. Shall I continue?" The opportunity to give me the safe-word hung over the room like a cloud in smoky bar with insufficient ventilation. I waited more time than I usually allowed for an answer, but he said nothing, a slow nod of his head finally signaled me to continue. I would have self-combusted if even a whisper of a safe-word escaped his perfect lips.

"How many are left, Yours?" I panted, almost unable to stand. I was so hot, so ready. He didn't speak.

So I said through a wide grin, "You may answer me."

"T-two, Your Majesty." His answer was breathy, and it nearly made me come standing up. In quick succession, I let the last two remaining cracks of my flogger meet his skin and his hands pulled at the chains, making the definition of the muscles down his arms and across his back look like chiseled marble. I quickly went to the table and set the toy back, returning with the lotion to softly rub on the red slashes. I intended for my fingers to be as soft as a feather, but with my first touch to his skin he once again gasped, until he realized what I was doing. I covered every red welt, massaging them gently, almost lovingly. I quickly undid his wrists from the cuffs and watched as his body dropped onto the bed.

I crawled up next to him, and leaned in to whisper in his ear, "Yours darling, roll over." The slow movement onto his back spoke volumes, and for a minute I was afraid I had taken him too far. I removed the spikes from around his dick as I moved to kneel between his legs, but instead of my hands, I leaned over and used my tongue to bring coolness to his rock-hard dick. I wrapped my lips around him, lightly gliding them over his skin, his taste like nothing I'd experience before. His head lifted from the bed, and I stopped, crawling up to straddle his stomach and take off the nipple clamps, throwing them to the side of the bed. He was still breathing heavy, so I started to softly run my fingers over his nipples.

"Yours, are you…alright?" I leaned down closer to his face, and when I didn't get a response, I touched my lips to his. I'd wanted to do that all night. He just nodded.

It was maddening that I couldn't see his eyes at this moment. I wanted to see the heat, the passion, or whatever he was feeling. For a moment, I wanted to rip the mask off his head, to see what was underneath, but that was breaking a cardinal rule: if a participant wore a mask this elaborate, it was for a reason.

"You can speak now. You can touch me. You're free to do what you want with me. I'm yours." No sooner had I spoken the words, the fingers of his right hand came up hesitantly to unlace my corset, his initial pull agonizingly slow, teasing me,. His head fell back on the bed, and I could only presume he was gazing at me, until both hands came up to rip at the lacing that held my corset together, tearing it from my body. His hands came up to squeeze both of my tits, his initial touch sending shots of electricity down between my legs. His fingers came down to the edge of my thong, pulling at it, the snaps holding it closed on both sides no match for his insistence. I felt the fire burn between my legs, as his hand reached towards me, his long fingers finding my clit, sliding back and forth.

"Mmm. You can say anything, now." I softly said, giving him permission again, but he just shook his head, as his torso rose up, and he brought his mouth slowly, too slowly, to mine. My hands went up around his neck pulling him to me. My tongue plunged against his, both of them fighting for dominance, as I felt his finger slide again over my clit to my entrance, sliding two in and out in rhythm with his tongue.

"Fuck the fingers. I want you inside me. Now." I commanded, breaking the kiss. He stretched his long arm for the condom that was on the bedside table, ripping open the package and taking it out.

"Wait. Give it to me." I said, taking it from his hand. I slid my body back, letting his dick run over my wet heat, and I expertly rolled it on, careful of the still red spike marks, but my touch just seem to excite him more.

The anticipation of his cock inside me was too much, and I grabbed his dick in my hand and moved to hover over him as he lay back down. My gaze on the eyeholes of his mask, I felt a strange connection to him penetrating the mirrored-barrier that kept his identity from me. I lowered my body until I felt his tip just inside me, and then let my body fall slowly taking him all in, watching as he took a quick breath through clenched teeth. He was so thick and long, the sensation of my insides wrapping around him was enough to make me let out a breathy sigh.

Oh, sweet fuck.

I moved slowly up, and then down, grinding my hips around, feeling all of him. I reached back to let my hands rest on his spread thighs, and the change in position had him hitting exactly where he needed to be. He was everything I'd wanted, everything I could have imagined him to be, and I hadn't even come yet.

I was lost in the sensations he was giving me, when I felt him raising his hips to push harder and faster. I was riding the best dick of my life, the feel of him like the key to my magic lock, the smacking of our skin against each other like a symphony to my ears. Everything in me wanted to cry out, to scream, as my arms and legs started to shake with the prolonged use and tension of my muscles.

As if feeling it, his hand came up to my hip, his fingers beckoning me towards him. I lunged forward, my hands balancing on his abs. His one hand reached up to squeeze my nipple, as the fingers on his other once again found my clit, and pinched the spot that would send me over. I knew he was close, by the sound of his moans, and it was all I could do to hold myself upright when my insides started to squeeze around him like a vice. I barely held on, trying to remember all of my tricks, all of the techniques, trying to prolong it without a sound, waiting for him. But with one last thrust, his arms were around me, clutching me to him as he sat up, my insides exploding so powerfully, a low moan slipped up through my throat. I felt his body rut into me once more, his muscles shaking where they pressed against my skin, his final grunt rocketing him inside me.

I felt nothing, I felt everything, as the waves continued to wash through me and over him. He pulled me down on top of him, my head falling against his chest. Conscious thought evaporated, tiny flickering stars flashed behind my closed eyes. He held me, my body limp, as we both lay there skin to skin, his dick still inside me and my vibrations pulsating around him.

I didn't know how long he held me, a second, an hour, an eternity. All I could do is revel in the all-encompassing feeling of nothingness competing with the electricity coursing through me. It was like nothing I'd ever felt before, and if I'd died at that moment, it would've been a good way to go. His chest rose and fell underneath my head, the sound of his heart beating pounded in my ear. Eventually, I felt him roll me to the side, slipping out of me, and holding my head in his hand, as it lolled back. My body followed to lay flat, his arm protectively cradling my side as it did, but every one of my nerve endings fired shocks throughout my system. By the movement of the bed, I assumed he was getting rid of the condom as I couldn't even force my eyes open.

Again the mattress dipped as he came back, crawling up next to me, moving me to my side so he could wrap his arms around me from behind. His one hand drifted softly over my stomach to my tit, possessively cupping it in his hand, his lips running over my shoulder to my neck, softly kissing it.

My eyelids were lead, my body even more so. I merely existed, the rise and fall of my chest the only clue that I was alive.

"My Queen." He whispered in my ear. "Are you…are you ok?" His whisper was like the Prince's kiss, waking me from my slumber.

"Fuck yeah." It took all the strength I had to say it.

He held me for awhile, I don't know how long. I must've fallen asleep, a soft kiss on my cheek waking me only briefly to know he was gone.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

I arrived in the office that morning at my customary time feeling…incredible, like I was high, and with more energy than any Disney kid on crack. Every nerve ending pinged, but ironically every one of my muscles protested movement, including my arms, the insides of my thighs . . . and the ones I thought I'd never wear out. I half-grinned at the thought. I'd worn one of my black Chanel suits and a demure, yet not really, hot pink camisole underneath. It left just enough to the imagination and allowed me to wear a nice black lace push-up underneath. I was feeling…hot…fucking fantastic really, and I wanted it to show.

I had just locked my purse down in my personal drawer, when…

"Beller." Jasper's voice caressingly breathed from the doorway. Almost unconsciously, my smile faded. After last night, a fuck from Jasper seemed almost…rudimentary.

"Hey, Jasper." I sighed, sitting down in my chair and getting my laptop out of my briefcase.

"You, uh, ready for this meetin'?" He asked harmlessly, as he came through the door, turning it and locking it behind him.

I really wasn't in the mood, but I had to handle him…carefully. "Yes. I think I have my shit together, what do you think he's going to talk about?" I started to dock my laptop, effectively turning my back to him. I hoped the maneuver was subtle but direct enough for the fucktard.

I felt his hands on the back of my chair. "Got me. No one seems ta know." As he said it, he ran his hands back and forth, his fingertips purposely grazing my back.

"Jazz, I've got to get some stuff together, do you think we can wait 'til this afternoon? We can meet later. In the room." I said nonchalantly, bringing up my email.

His laugh behind me wasn't really a laugh. It was more like a derisive snort. "You…you're…" Suddenly my chair swiveled around, his hands on the armrests as he leaned forward. "Beller, darlin'…" he glared at me. "Are ya tryin' ta tell me _you're_ not in the _mood_?" His face came closer, too close. I didn't like his tone, nor his change in demeanor. I'd taught him better than this.

I glared back, wholly aggravated, effectively quashing the euphoria of my morning. "Jasper, I suggest you remember your place and kindly remove your hands from my chair and back the fuck up. _Now_." That last "now" almost sounded like a growl. My arms folded across me, hoisting my tits up in the air, trying to keep any part of him from touching me.

He hesitated for just a moment.

"If you don't, I'm gonna knee you in the fuckin' balls and laugh as you bow-leggedly walk into the meeting. I'm sure our new VP will wonder what the hell you've been up to." I sneered, whatever vestiges of patience I had evaporating.

He looked at me for another moment, obviously thinking twice about whatever had come over him, as a lazy smile formed on his face. "Of course, my…I mean…as you wish, darlin'." He pushed away with his arms and took a step backward, sending my chair wheeling back into my desk, my back smacking into the edge of it. I hid the pain behind pursed lips. Pussy-whipped ass.

"Don't press your luck, redneck." I turned once again to my computer, effectively ending the conversation. From the corner of my eye, I watched as he quickly went to my door, flicked open the lock, and flung the door open with such power he had to catch it with his hand before it hit the wall.

"Hello, Jasper." _Fuck…no_. Edward was standing in the doorway.

"Edward." Jasper stormed by him and down the hall. I pretended to be focused on my monitor, seemingly relaxed and oblivious to Jasper's tantrum tension.

"Bella." Edward greeted as he walked into my office. "How are you this morning?" He smiled as he walked up to my desk. I tore my gaze from my computer to stare him down. He had that fucktastic smile on his face, a smile to swoon a million other women who would cream their panties at the mere sight of it.

I tried to return to the state that I was in when I got to the office. "I'm fantastic, Edward. Thanks. So, wanna clue me in as to what you're gonna throw at us this first official meeting of yours?" I leaned back in my chair as I crossed my legs, turning to face him directly, giving him a grin.

To think, I'd thought his already panty-dripping smile couldn't get any better. Shit, I was wrong. The corners of his mouth went even wider, and I stared at gleam off his pearly whites. I almost chuckled when I realized he must've paid a fortune for them.

"Of course not. Why? Are you…_nervous_, Bella?" I glanced at my monitor as my notifications box appeared with another email.

"Nervous? No." I half laughed, scooting my chair up to the edge of my desk and placing my hands on it. "Should I be?" Why is it that I felt like we were engaged in the beginnings of a chess match?

In answer to my aplomb, the laughter that came out of him was real. "I don't think so. I'll see you in there." He turned to walk to the door, but when he reached the threshold he suddenly stopped, his head half-turning as if he were going to say something and then changed his mind. He shook it momentarily as if to make whatever it was disappear, and walked away.

I sat back in my chair again and stared at my doorway. Just what the fuck was that? I chewed on my fingernail as I wondered. Sure, I overcame the thoughts that were in the back of my head when he asked me if I was nervous. If he saw what I had found…if he knew…

I quickly up righted my chair, my fingers flying to my computer keyboard.

_Yes_. That was _it_.

I pulled up the internal system that held the financial data for each editor's titles, printing out a few key pages from the Profit & Loss statements, or P&Ls. Then I went to the reports that Edward's now secretary had sent even before his arrival on order from his predecessor. Finally, I printed out my handy-dandy spreadsheet where I'd did my own number-crunching of what I'd found.

For some reason, I got the feeling that Edward was trying to tell me something, even in the five minutes he was in here. If he knew all the shit he said he did about me, the one thing he should know was that I was never nervous. So, just for him to ask would mean…

I gathered up the papers from my printer, and started to organize them into file folders. If Edward was asking me if I was nervous, there might be something to be nervous about. What I had in these files was the key. He wouldn't come in here if he had a problem with me. He wouldn't give me a warning if he had a problem with me. This was the way in – the way to strategically and effectively earn his trust. His dick would be in my hand by the weekend. Preferably harder than granite.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

I sat down at the far end of the round table. Yes, we were in the Camelot room, our biggest conference room. A circular table, the middle cut-out, where no one was supposed to appear to have any more power or influence than anyone else, even though the chairs immediately in front of the doors always remained empty until the big dicks arrived. I always sat myself across from them to read them, their expressions, their body language, and their looks at other people across the room. Yes, it was yet another political dance, this room built to foster equality. Utter bullshit. That and the fact that I was one of the three females in it, the other two chicks were Editors and underneath me.

Edward was the last to arrive, and I almost grinned. Wanting to make a grand entrance in front of all of his direct reports? Check. Oh, this was going to be fun.

"Good afternoon, everyone." He began. "While this meeting was supposed to be more informal, a chance for us to come together, I've recently stumbled upon some disturbing information that…I need to address."

The collective breaths of everyone in the room stopped. I chanced a glance at Jasper who just sat with his arms folded across his chest. Jasper and I had developed a secret code over the years, different movements, different hand gestures to signal to each other what we were thinking. Rubbing our noses meant something stunk in Denmark. Putting our chin in our hand on the desk meant we were bored. Hands folded across the chest were not a sign. That coupled with the fact that he didn't even look at me and I thought maybe I should rub my nose.

"Some reports have come across my desk, and after further investigation, I've determined that we are three million dollars in the hole." Edward said, looking around the table.

My body tensed. He _had_ found it. I tried to remain as calm as physically possible. I watched as Jasper held his position, but his face wasn't as relaxed as it had been. I knew that I was the only one who could see it, too. Because only I knew every inch of that man, every nuance, mostly because I brought them all out in him. My eyes went across the space of the table, and back to Edward. He was looking at me. Christ.

I held his gaze and my outward impassiveness, putting on a rather impressive poker face.

Jasper suddenly spoke up. "Edward, perhaps you and I should discuss this outside this meeting. Maybe I oughta take a look at what you found."

"Funny that you should say that, Jasper, since you're VP of Accounting." Edward grinned across the table. But it was in his eyes. They spoke volumes, and I could read them like a large-print book. Whatever Edward had found, whatever evidence he had, pointed directly to Jasper, especially if it was the same information I'd combed over.

I sat straighter in my chair, torn between hanging back to see how this played out, or standing to actually agree with Jasper and taking this pissing session to a more private venue. I surreptitiously glanced at the 15 or so people around me, but everyone's eyes were glued on the two of them. I kept from shaking my head when I realized they were all probably thanking their BMW, Lexus, and/or Mercedes it wasn't them in Jasper's place.

"Edward, I don't know what you're trying to imply, but I'm sure it's an oversight, or a lack of correct information.

"Hmmm. Yes, an oversight." Edward rubbed his hand on his chin, looking down at what I could only assume were the numbers in question.

Jasper suddenly stood and looked around the room. His expression grew dark and menacing; it was one that on occasion, I had drawn out of him. But I'd never seen in it here, in the workplace. "I don't know what you're accusin' me of, or tryin' ta accuse me of…in front of everyone, Edward, but…"

"I'm not accusing anyone." Edward cut him off and stood up, resting his hands on the table, leaning forward towards Jasper. "I want to know _why_ we're three million in the hole, when books are flying out the door with rising enrollments."

Jesus. In about two seconds, they were both going to fly over the table into the center, and duke this out.

Jasper leaned forward, his hand going out to circle the room. "Perhaps we all should take a look at our expense accounts, the amount of money that we spend on corporate events, and marketing."

Edward grinned. "Right. You know as well as I do Jasper, that we don't spend two million on those things, let alone three. I suggest you sit down and we'll discuss this as a team."

"Tryin' ta ruin a man's reputation _in front _of the team, Cullen, is no way ta gather in the flock." He started to gather his files and papers. "I'll be expectin' a public apology." As he turned to leave, he finally looked at me, and if I'd thought his face was dark before, it was nothing compared to the way his eyes fired mortar shells at me now.

He thought I had something to do with this. He was thinking that this morning's refusal was my complicity in Edward's very public flogging.

He hesitated long enough for me to think he was expecting me to make a move with him, in some show of support. I crossed my arms and looked down at my reports in front of me.

_Oh no, asshole. You're on your own._

Although I didn't look up, the door to the conference room slamming was my signal he was gone.

"Meeting adjourned." Edward stated unnecessarily, gathered his things and left.

For about 20 seconds, everyone in the room sat shell-shocked. All except for me. My mind was whirling, because the opening I needed had just fallen into my lap. Jasper was as cooked as a pig that had been skewered over an open fire for ten hours.

I had Edward Cullen in the palm of my hand.

As everyone started to rise amidst their whispers and hushed laughs, I couldn't help but let a small grin grow from the corners of my mouth.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

As I walked up to his corner office, I checked with his assistant, Mary, who told me to go on in. I eyed the closed door suspiciously wondering why it was ok for me to just walk right in, but I wasn't going to argue with her. I knocked twice, waiting for the…

"What?" The curt way he said it told me the anger was still at the surface.

I turned the handle and walked through the door, "Edward? Do you mind if I come in?" assumptively closing it as I asked. With his back to me, he stared out the window of walls to the east, hands on his hips. He whipped around when he heard me, the scowl that had been on his face as he left the meeting still in place.

"Yes. What is it?" he huffed out, running his hand through that fuckme hair of his.

"I…"

"I apologize, Bella. I shouldn't take that tone with you. It's…it's a total lack of professionalism on my part. What can I do for you?" I wanted to smirk, I wanted to smile. _You can fuck me like an animal _wasthe first thought that came to mind as I walked toward his I held the innocent, rather hurt look on my face more successfully than I thought possible.

"I wanted to give you these. Reports. I've highlighted certain sections in them that you will find enlightening. You were…right in there. And while Jasper is…is a friend, I thought these might help your case. I can get more information if you need it, or if you're unfamiliar with our systems yet…" _Stop talking, Bella._ I reached out the files in my hand towards him, over his desk. His gaze was like ice, studying me, and I just knew he was running the angles that I might have through his head.

He grabbed the files from me, and sat down in his chair. "Please. Sit." Opening the files, he perused the figures that I had run just two weeks ago, my highlights drawing attention to key entries, and it was clear. There was something amuck.

He let out a sigh as he saw what I intended for him to see. I crossed one leg over the other, letting a little thigh show for effect.

"Why are you giving me these, Bella?" He sat back in his chair, letting the files fall to his desk.

"Because I thought you might need them." I answered plainly.

He got up from his chair and turned around to again stare out the massive windows, his hands again on his hips. I stayed silent at first, trying to figure my next move, my next sentence, but suddenly I was rising out of my chair, my legs walking over to stand next to him. As I stood beside him, he looked down and shook his head.

"Just what the hell are you up to, Bella? I distinctly remember telling you no games."

"Edward, if I were playing games, I wouldn't have given you those files, would I?" I said, looking up at him. "It's just… business. You need to find out what the fuh - what's going on. After the display you and Jasper put on in that meeting, I was embarrassed for both of you. But I can't deny what you said, and if Jasper… if he..." I turned my head to look out the window. "I just brought you the proof you need." I momentarily waited for a reaction. Getting none, I started to walk away, when his hand clenched around my upper arm, effectively stopping me. How I wanted it there. How I wanted him to squeeze even harder, but I had to play my role.

I glanced down at his hand, and then up at his eyes, and he didn't remove it, just inched me closer to him, until his other hand was grasping my other upper arm.

I looked down then, partly because I knew I had to keep up my game. But mostly because I couldn't look at the superbly-colored emeralds posing as his eyes any longer without starting to rise up on my tip-toes to press my lips to his.

"Edward, please remove your hands. I…" I shrugged my shoulders from his grasp, and walked two steps from him, my back turned. As hard as I was trying to remember this was part of my game, I didn't like the way his touch felt. I needed to keep the upper hand here, no emotion whatsoever.

"Bella." I felt him standing behind me. I felt his hands want to touch me again, and it was all I could do not to turn around and press my body into his, the surge of electricity my body felt with his close proximity.

"Bella, I'm sorry. I…I don't know what came over me." He walked away from me, and the sweet sparks went with him.

"You know, I could report you for that," I said with all the composure I could muster, halfway to the door.

"Yes, I suppose you could," he sighed, and I could feel him walking up behind me, but stopping just in front of his desk. I knew I had him, if I turned around now, there was no turning back. My head said to walk the fuck out, make Edward burn a little bit more, but I recognized that burn, and all the synapses in my body were firing, begging me to turn back to him. I'd never felt less in control that I did at this moment, and something in me hated it, but something deeper stirred. Almost unrecognizable, it was a need, a yearning, more than I'd ever felt. Flying by the seat of my pants was not my style, I was a planner, and Edward Cullen had effectively blown whatever my plan had been sky high. Something told me this was going to be wild ride. For both of us. I slowly turned back, and took two steps toward him.

"Bella, I…" The green of his eyes blazed nearly red as he met me in the center of his office.

"Relax, Cullen." I nearly choked on the words, because the last thing I could do was relax. My eyes glanced at his tantalizing red lips, signaling what I was thinking. Would he take the bait?

"Bella, you are the most infuriating woman I've ever known." He said, answering my gaze by raping my lips with his eyes. "I said no games. I can't let this happen…" he whispered, as his hand reached out and tugged mine, and …I let him. My body crashed against his, my tits between his molded pecs and sculpted abs, the force of which made my mouth open. The familiar ache grew between my legs. He brought my hand up to his chest, holding it there like a prisoner. The realization made me want to run, and yet the fluttering in my lower abdomen kept me still.

I slowly brought my gaze up to his. "Then don't." I parlayed, fully knowing it's what he wanted me to say, but taking every last ounce of control I had left to say it. The hand that wasn't holding mine suddenly went to my waist and traced up from the small of my back, slowly, skimming fingertips up my spine, until his fingers clutched the back of my neck. I couldn't help but stare at his parted lips. Those lips…those…

"Fuck, Bella…." and suddenly those lips were on mine, his tongue forcing its way in. The hand that had held mine, let go, finding it's way to the small of my back and pressing me to him. At first his tongue slid gently against mine, teasing, luring, conquering, until it was nearly devouring me, thrusting against mine in perfect rhythm. There was something strange about it, the way his tongue touched mine. But the thought was lost, when I couldn't help my hands as they slid up from where they'd been stationary at my sides around to his back and up to his shoulder blades, the muscles underneath it firm, his dick up against my stomach even more so.

His lips left my mouth and nipped and sucked a path down my neck to the spot where my shoulder started, my neck still firmly in his grasp or my head might have fallen backwards and completely detached from my body. His hand at the small of my back suddenly went under my camisole, the touch tickling and burning my skin. His kisses trailed down to my collarbone, the hand that had been on my back, now sliding the two thin strips of fabric that were in his way down my arm.

Before I realized it, he was moving me toward the couch, sitting me gently back, kneeling in front of me. My gaze caught his, and for a moment, it was like déjà vu, his eyes asking for permission. But I didn't speak, as his hand came up to push back what was the minimal lace and satin of my bra, licking my nipple, and then taking it in his mouth. He sucked, suckled, until my head went back as his pearly whites bit down and I thought my insides would burst.

A knock on the door had my head popping up, and Edward's eyes piercing mine. His fingertips deftly and quickly brought up my bra and camisole straps, as he agilely rocked backward from his knees and nearly ran to sit behind his desk, straightening his tie along the way. I stayed where I was, crossing my legs to fight the need that was near painful in its intensity now.

"Yes, come in." Edward voiced as he sat, and grabbed the files that I had given him.

The door opened. "Edward, can I…" Jasper's eyes left Edward's to focus on my rather outwardly relaxed, but inwardly blitzed position on the couch.

"Jasper, you and I have nothing more to say to each other today." Edward said not looking up from the file he had opened.

"Beller." Jasper nodded in my direction, but even at my distance, I could see his eyes grow dark, even more than they had been in the conference room when they had been focused on Edward.

"I wanted ta discuss what happened earlier, but I can see that you're…" his eyes once again glared at me, "busy."

Somewhere within that statement, Edward had lifted his gaze to look at Jasper, and recognized the intention behind the word "busy" as much as I did.

"Jasper, come in and close the door behind you," Edward said as he rose from his desk and came to stand four feet in front of Jasper. I got up as well and walked toward them both.

"Bella…" Edward said holding his hand to me in a gesture that said stay back. Geez-o-fucking-peet! Whatever was going down, I did NOT need some sort of misguided display of chivalry.

Edward kept the floor. "Jasper, I'm not sure what you're implying…No, I take that back. I know exactly what it is you're implying, and I suggest, before you do something to get your ass fired, that you walk out of here and back to your office and figure out why we're out three million dollars."

I'd seen the expression on Jasper's face only once before. When he'd thought that I'd been fucking one of the VPs in another division. He'd been right, but I had convinced him, with much finesse, that he was mental.

Ignoring Edward's outstretched hand, I walked up to Edward's left, strategically placing myself nearly equidistant from both of them, but not between them. "Jasper, it would imprudent for you to start throwing innuendo around now, considering your display in the meeting this morning." I said, staring him down. Oh, I was treading on thin ice.

"Why you fucking whorrr…" Jasper lunged at me, and in a blink, Edward was standing in front of me.

"Jasper, get the fuck out of my office right now." Edward hissed. He'd put a hand out behind him, reaching for me as he said it, and now, looking at it, I so wanted to take it. But I didn't. I turned my back on both of them, and walked over to the bank of windows.

I couldn't see what was happening anymore, and I didn't want to.

"Edward, I…" Jasper pleaded like the fucking idiot he was. There was no turning back now.

"OUT!" Edward yelled, my shoulders jolting just slightly. Between the two of them, I would have bet big money on Jasper being the better of the two at controlling his emotions. But in the span of 5 minutes in here, and what had been all of 20 minutes in the boardroom, I wasn't so sure anymore. The look that had been on his face, the way he had come at me wanting to what looked like tear my head off, made me…almost frightened.

With the slamming of the door, and the turning of the lock, I let out the breath that I had been holding for what seemed like hours. I couldn't turn around, I couldn't look at him.

"Bella." And suddenly his arms were sliding around my waist, holding me to him, but it was too late. The warmth that had once been his touch now seemed cold, icy. My willingness to leave all that I had been behind and let myself go, gone, replaced by a hard steel wall that had enveloped me behind it. I pulled away and started toward the door.

"No, Edward. I appreciate the whole feeling the need to protect me, but I can handle this. I can take care of myself."

"Bella. Stop and think about this for a minute. He's going to be gunning for you now. I know you've been fucking him. I also know about Rose."

"Whaaat?" I spun around, walking back to face him.

"I told you. I know _everything_ there is to know about everyone who works here. Knowledge is power, Bella. I didn't think I needed to teach you that lesson."

I think for the first time in my life I was speechless. My body nearly shook with the bolts of anger that were running through me.

"Well, Cullen…" I started to say as I walked back to the door. "There's one thing you'll never know," I grabbed the handle, and turned to look at him. "You'll never know what it would have been like to be with the best fuck this company has."

And I walked out.

* * *

A/N:

So, yeah, I'm really in love with that last line. Gets me EVERY time I read it.

Let me know your thoughts, if you're so inclined. ;)


	3. Chapter 3

I won't keep you, just to say thanks again to my gal, my Pufferfish, HammerHips. The girl sure does know how to blow. Heh.

Disclaimer: Still don't own anything pertaining to Twilight, except for a nice cardboard Edward. Yep.

* * *

Chapter 3

I couldn't get back to my office fast enough, the image I projected to the peons in their cubes and those that were milling about was nothing but calm. Hell, I even smiled at some of them. But the grapevine in this office could be compared to bytes traveling across the world on fine filament: nearly instantaneous. Hotmail, Gmail, Facebook, texts were passed, delivered, posted, and everyone undoubtedly knew of the confrontation in Camelot between Edward and Jasper.

What I didn't know, and what chilled my blood, was what, if anything, had been heard of the scene in Edward's office? The Admin Network made the grapevine look like snail mail on a slow day. Edward's Admin, Mary, had to have overheard.

Throwing myself into my chair, I got my keys out of my hiding place in my overhead cabinet, and reached down to unlock my personal drawer, grabbing my phone like it was a lifeline.

"It's me. Get me him. From last night." I barked to Emmett.

"My Queen? Of course, Your Majesty, but…"

"Emmett!" I hissed through clenched teeth.

"Yes, Your Majesty. Everything will be as you wish when you arrive." I hit the End Call and leaned back into my chair holding the phone to my chest.

What the fuck just happened?

I had him, all of him, on his knees in front of me sucking on my nipple like he had learned how from the gods. In thirty more seconds, my hand would have been in that hair…and that hair would've been under my skirt. I clenched my thighs together to eliminate the growing ache.

Would I have given in that easily? Would I have fucked Edward Cullen, our new VP and my new boss, a man that I'd known for a day, there in his office?

Yeah, I probably would have.

The force at which he pulled me to him, our bodies crashing into each other, the touch of those infinitely kissable lips, the way his tongue worked over mine like a bow to a Stradivarius string…

_Shit, Bella, get a fucking grip!_

No. He was not getting a piece of this action until he was on his knees in front of me, begging like a choir boy. _Hmmm. On his knees…_

Goddammit!" I said to my office walls, to the poor sap Jake in the next office, and probably to half of the cubes right outside my door. I shook out my hands and twisted my neck around to relieve some of the tension. The rest I would work out tonight. Yours would be…

My door flew open.

Jasper stood in the threshold, his expression completely blank. Our eyes held for one second too long until he walked in, slowly and quietly closing the door behind him. As he turned the lock, he looked up at me and leered.

"It's customary to knock on a closed door before entering." I flippantly spewed at him, pushing my chair up to my desk, but a twinge in my gut startled me, a feeling so foreign I almost didn't recognize it.

Fear.

"Darlin', it's customary to lock your door if you want to be alone." His confident strut up to the side of my chair made my lips purse. I swung around to stand up, but his strong arms pushed me back down, the action only serving to quell the fear and boil the anger.

"Don't _ever_ fuckin' touch me like that again." I knew after the conference room he was pissed. I knew after Edward's office he'd be…difficult. But I wasn't prepared for him to be like…this.

"You're fuckin' him, aren't ya?" He leaned down planting his hands on the armrests of my chair, his face inches from mine. My feet pushed at the carpet underneath trying to free myself from his nearness, from his hot cinnamon breath assaulting my nose.

"Oh no you don't. You're not going to play all scared with me, little girl. There ain't a scared bone in your body." As he said it, his hands grabbed my shoulders, his fingers digging into the soft flesh around the bone, forcingme to my feet. Jasper was throwing everything I'd ever told him, everything I'd ever taught him, out the fucking window. I tried to bring my hands up through the middle of his to force them out and away, but his fingers only clamped down harder.

"I highly suggest you take your hands off me, Jasp–"

In the span of an intake of breath, he scooted my chair out of the way with his foot, and pushed me up against my desk, pressing his body into mine. The edge of finely-milled cherry wood dug into my ass as his one hand ran up the inside of my thigh, hiking up my skirt as it went.

In a very low voice, I managed, "Jasper, get your fuckin' hands off me, or I'm going to scream."

He returned the command with a grin reminding me of the Joker. "Are ya, Beller? Ya know, I don't think so. Unless it's like when you _should _scream…when I make you come so hard your fingernails dig into my back, your breath stops, your toes curl? That kinda scream?" The weight of him started to bend my back down towards the top of my desk, his fingers feeling me over the strip of lace that was hardly a barrier, until he was shoving it out of his way.

"Get…your fucking hands…_off me_." It wasn't a scream, more of an above-normal-voice directive. I had to get control of the situation, I had to…

"Tell me, Beller. Does _he_ make you scream? Does _he_ even make you _moan_?" His eyes grew darker, almost frenzied, my hands pushed at his chest as my back hit the desk, until I felt his fingers plunge inside me.

"Jasper!" They went in so quick, so fast, I felt a sting, his fingers pinching my skin.

The handle on my door jiggled, and Jasper's eyes flew to it, his smile receding.

"Bella, it's Rose. I thought we had a meeting…"

I whispered up into his face. "If you don't compose yourself and get the hell out of my office, I _will_ go to Edward as soon as I open that door." It was an empty threat. I wasn't going to go anywhere near Edward, but Jasper didn't know that.

His fingers slowly slipped out, as his thumb painfully pressed down on my clit before he let me up. As I stood up, he grabbed my waist to bring me to him, and put the three fingers he had had in me in his mouth to lick them. As he slowly slid them out of his mouth, mimicing the motion he had just usedinside me, his other hand suddenly let me go and went to my crotch, possessively cupping it.

"This?" He whispered inches from my face. "This is _mine_." He let me go, and walked toward the door, opening it.

"Hallo, Rose." He smiled at her and walked down the hall. Rose's gaze followed him, until she turned back to me.

"Bella, I thought…"

"Not now, Rose."

"But…"

"Rose! Please. Can we reschedule? I'm…" I had to get out of there.

"Sure. I'll set it up in…" I could feel her watching me as I turned off my computer and gathered my things. "…Outlook."

I grabbed my purse, my briefcase and brushed passed Rose without a second glance.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

I soaked in my whirlpool tub, my second martini balancing on the edge and within immediate reach.

Jasper's performance in the conference room had been…unexpected. I'd always thought the prick was better than that, stronger, especially if he was skimming off the top and cookin' the books. I grinned as the thought crossed my mind that perhaps I'd worn him down.

But his meltdown in Edward's office, the way he'd been in my office was…disturbing – the crazed look in his eyes, the way he lunged at me. He had been, and still would be, looking for blood. Mine.

I couldn't fault him for jumping to the right conclusion, even if he'd handled it like a fucktard. Edward and I had nearly…

Yes, nearly. But not. Nor ever now.

"_I said no games. I can't let this happen."_

"_Then don't."_

"_Fuck, Bella…."_

For just a moment, I let my mind drift to the feeling of his fingers against my skin, the touch of those perfect lips, the harmony that was his tongue against mine. Shit. Could I truly just let that go? My body shivered at the thought of never knowing what it might be like to have him, to feel him inside me, to hear him groan underneath me. To fuck him so hard he shook. Not to mention the orgasm he might give me.

No. At least not now. Not until Jasper was under control.

I downed the rest of my drink and rose up quickly from the now cooling water. Rubbing the Egyptian cotton towel over my body, I closed my eyes and pictured Yours' hands instead, persuasive, strong, and…hungry. I needed my outlet. I needed to clear my mind of today, of Jasper's schizoid attack, of Edward's near penetration. I giggled at my own double entendre.

The memory, the vision that was Edward Cullen would soon be whipped from my mind by the red skin of Yours' back, ass, and thighs.

I walked down the hall to my dressing room and Emmett was standing there waiting, as usual.

"Everything is ready, my Queen." He swung the door opened allowing me to walk through.

"Thanks, Em. You work miracles. Shots are on me…after." I smiled at him.

"You bet your sweet ass they are, your highness." He winked. His arm went to swing the door closed, but then his head popped in. "My Queen…" he looked at the floor, "Try to take it easy on the new guy, tonight, ok?" He didn't look up.

I had put my bag on the chair, but Emmett's request made me spin around. "What? Is my servant trying to give me orders?" I half-grinned, but something about Emmett's request irked me. The smile that I had given him slowly receded as I walked back closer to him. "What I do in there is my business, Em. I appreciate your concern, but he wants this as much as I do. You of all people should understand."

His gaze came up from the floor and met mine. He seemed to want to say something else, but changed his mind. "Yes, my Queen. I forgot my place." He bowed and closed the door.

What the fuck had gotten into him? Was there some invasion by alien bodysnatchers that I didn't know about? Was everyone out of their fucking mind today?

I dressed quickly; tonight's ensemble included a midnight blue lace-up corset, with oval openings on the sides showing more skin, and a matching thong. Tonight, though, I would be leaving my hair down. Readying my mask, and stepping into my 3 inch black patent Laboutins, I couldn't control the excitement that coursed through my veins.

I left my dressing room ready to burst, knowing that behind the next door would be my well-packaged gift of a savior, and as my hand turned the doorknob to enter the room, my stomach did a whip-back into a double-pike. He was sitting as he had been last night, on his knees, no pillow, head hanging in supplication. The same mask that he'd been wearing last night still covered all of his features, except for those deliciously ripe lips of his. I wanted to walk right up and suck them off of his face. I quickly closed and locked the door behind me before walking over to my table of toys, my fingertips running over them creating the familiar tightening in my gut.

I walked over and stood over him, so close that if he lifted his head it would have run smack dab into where I wanted his mouth. So close that if he tried, he could smell how aroused I already was.

"I'm going to give you the time of your life tonight, Yours. I'm going to punish you until all you can think of is being inside me. It will take everything you have to remain silent. Are you up for it? You may speak." Too bad I couldn't see his dick.

"Yes, my Queen." He said in the lowest of whispers, and its mysteriousness sent helicopter blades humming between my legs.

"Do we need to review the safe-words?"

The quick shake of his head back and forth was all I needed to tell me he was ready.

I took a step backward to admire him once more. Even in this position, even with a mask hiding his face from me, he was…beautiful. "Then let's begin. From now on, not a sound. Stand."

He lifted one knee and pushed up from the floor, my eyes focused on the black silk that hid my end goal. His dick was already pushing against the fabric, and my hand itched to hold it. Instead, I took a slow step forward, running my fingernails over those sculpted pecs, down across his cut abs, and once again he stood absolutely still.

_Good boy._

I went to the table and grabbed the remote and one of our toys from last night. I decided to start off simple and work my way up to tonight's climax. Lowering the cuffs, I put them around his wrists, pressing the button to raise them, but stretching him farther than last night. As I walked to stand in front of him, once again I marveled at the sight of every muscle, every tendon, stretching and bulging from his skin. He was so perfect; I licked my lips, the lioness ready to hunt.

"Yours, you're being such a good boy, tonight. It pleases me that you are." I couldn't help but reach out and touch him again, but this time I ran my fingernails over his abs, walking around him, trailing my fingertips as I walked, and ran them over his ass. His subtle flinch brought back the memory of last night, and I realized he was still feeling the effects.

"Are you sure you want this, Yours?" I whispered up to his shoulder, while I rubbed my hands over the smooth silk feeling the roundness of his ass beneath. He only nodded his head, but my touch seemed to relax him a bit. I fought the urge to just wrap my arms around his waist, pulling him to me, and instead walked back around to face him.

Although his head still hung, I glanced at my reflection in the mirrored eye coverings as I put the same nipple clamp on him from last night. His intake of breath was more pronounced then it had been last night, so I didn't turn the screw just yet. As I clamped on the other one, his reaction was the same – another breath – but this time he breathed out. Good. Breathing through the pain was a step in the right direction.

"Oh Yours, you're so perfect, I can't decide what to do next." I smiled up at him. Walking to the table, I set down the remote and decided to try something new. Picking up my Tigress Whip, I slowly walked back to stand in front of him.

"We're going to try something new tonight, Yours." I whispered as I ran the tails over his shoulder and around his chest and then lightly let touch his tented dick.

"But you need to be punished, Yours. It's why you requested me last night, and it's why I'm here again with you. Punishing you will pleasure me." I moved to the side of him to get a good view of his back, and flicked the whip with the preciseness of the pro I was. His upper body flinched with the sting, but his feet didn't move.

"That's so good, Yours. So good." I encouraged and let another crack hit his skin. His hands that were now fists shook the chains, but not a sound out of him.

I came up in front of him to look up at the mask that hid his true pain, letting my hands trail up from his abs, around the clamps and to the sides of his neck.

"Yours?" He shook his head adamantly. I glanced at his lips and they parted for me, as if asking me, telling me, that they wanted to be touched. It could be a game changer, but I didn't care and stretched to take his upper lip between mine, and then tugged it with my teeth. As I pulled away, his head inched forward, wanting more, and I just grinned back at him. For the next toy, I removed the nipple clamps and his exhale was noticeable. I threw them on the floor. I couldn't wait to touch him anymore, and ran my hand up his dick, feeling it swell in my palm.

"Soon, my pet. Soon." My next toy would be all I required of him tonight. That and him inside me.

I picked up the cane from my table, and walked to stand three feet in front of him.

"Yours, I'm checking in, for your sake as well as mine, because I'm going to send you places you never thought possible." His head moved slightly up and down, his torso hung slightly forward, the muscles in his stretched arms bulging as well as his dick.

"Good. I will not be lenient for disobedience." I cracked the cane in the palm of my hand, taking a step toward him, when behind me I heard a key in the lock. My body spun around.

"Good evening, Beller." Jasper said closing the door quickly and locking it behind him.

"Jas–what the fu–what are you doing here?" I couldn't contain my surprise even though I tried, but it was quickly overcome. "You have to leave." I started to walk over to the table to grab the remote where the alarm button would send Emmett running.

"Nuh uh, darlin'," But before I could get the table, one of his arms came around my throat. As my hands flew up to try and pull it off, he snatched the cane and then wrapped his other arm around my waist, my cane now in his hand. "Beller, I highly suggest you remain quiet, or I'll choke the life out of ya."

With the grip he had around my throat, I momentarily believed him. I looked up to see Yours pulling at the cuffs, the mirrored eye holes meeting mine. I could tell by the way he pressed his lips together he wanted to speak, but said nothing. He was still playing, playing by my rules, and even though Jasper held my neck, the need I had for Yours was like fire through my veins, shooting through every nerve ending, culminating in tension between my legs like I'd never felt. My legs pressed together, my knees started to bend, and I nearly whimpered. If it weren't for Jasper, I would have Yours inside me now.

It would take everything I had, but the fuckhead behind me needed to go, and I needed to talk him down using every trick I had in me.

"Jasper, sweetheart. If you wanted to play, why didn't you tell me? I could've arranged…"

"Shut UP, Beller. Why, you're nothing but a freak dressed in fine clothes, aren't ya. All this time, I was thinkin' you and I were meant to be together. Your penchant for the wild and dangerous and the ability to ride me like a fine stallion." His arm squeezed tighter around my throat, and the realization that Jasper was out of his mind suddenly crept into mine. _Fuck!_ But as I tried to think and come up with a plan, I could feel my eyes starting to bulge out of my head, the pain in my esophagus cutting off…air. I couldn't get air.

"Jazz…" I squeaked out barely above a whisper.

"But just like when I purchase a fine stallion, I had to do some research. Had to make sure you weren't some poser, some half-breed dressed in a fine saddle." I could feel his breath on my ear, but his words were becoming muffled, twinkling stars on the edges of the room. I glanced again at Yours, and he was still tugging at the restraints, his teeth clenched.

"Get…the fuck… off her!" he suddenly spoke in a low growl.

Jasper just laughed behind me. "I'll deal with you in a minute."

Jasper's lips were against my ear. "Do you know what I do to my horses when they don't obey, Bella?" Just as the darkness started to close, he threw me to the floor, my head smacking against the cold tile, but not enough to knock me out. I choked for air, trying to push up with my palms.

"Well, naturally, they have to be taught a lesson." A sharp crack and a stinging pain across my back sent my cheek to the floor…and the rest of me into oblivion.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

I heard voices and a low moan that sounded like it came from me.

"My Queen? Bella? It's Emmett." Strong hands went around me, rolling me over, and held me in them. My back was on fire, and a stinging pain rocketed over and through it as the arm cradling me came in contact with it, and this time my moan was louder.

"I need to get him into the bar. I'll call the cop I know. He'll take care of him." I recognized Emmett voice near to my face and realized he was holding me.

"Good. Make sure you pour some shit down his throat and over him so he smells like the horse's ass he is. I'll take care of the rest of him from my end."

That voice.

"Bella, can you hear me?" I felt rough knuckles across my cheek, and then a very large hand holding my chin. I tried to move my head back and forth, but the comforting hand held me still.

"She's coming to. You have to get her out of here. You both have to get out of here." Emmett said to the voice.

I started to remember…Yours, his compliance, his beauty…Jasper coming in…clutching my throat…and then fade to black.

"Don't take her to the hospital either, they'll be looking there. That is, if someone else believes his bullshit, but my guy should take care of it. I pay him well enough."

"Don't worry, I have someplace I can hide her. I'll call Dad if I need to, but I know what to do."

That voice. The familiarity made me finally flutter my eyes open, and they fell on the side of Emmett's head. He was looking over his shoulder, but then I saw him. Jasper was just to the side of me on the floor, unconscious.

"Emmett, what the…_fuck_?" I tried to lift my head, as Emmett's hand slid to cover my ear, holding the side of my head in his palm.

"Everything's going to be fine, Bells. I mean, my Queen." Emmett's whoops-a-daisy smile made me try to grin.

"Really, Em. You're gonna have to work on that." My eyes slid shut until I realized there had been someone else in the room, that distinctly familiar voice, and I whipped them back open to find…

"Hello, Bella."

There, kneeling next to Emmett on the floor in jeans and a black t-shirt, was Edward Cullen.

* * *

DOH! So, I can just feeeel all of you Jasperites wanting to reach through the screen and throttle me. *snickers*

If you have a minute, let me know what you thought. And thanks for reading. ;)


	4. Chapter 4

A/N:

Once again, if you're not over 18 then you can't drink, and you might want one with this chapter, and I'm not talking a Coke, so keep on moving along there.

This wouldn't be what it is without my leeetle Pufferfish, HammerHips. Go check our her stuff. Her Underneath Your Scars is fab, but be forewarned. She's one of those "Jasperites". ;)

Disclaimer: Yep, still down own anything Twilight. You know it. I know it. Blah, blah, blah.

Let's get on with it then, shall we?...

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**Chapter 4**

**Edward's playlist:**

"The Hand That Feeds" – Nine Inch Nails

"Fight Inside" – Red

"Fell on Black Days" – Soundgarden

"I Hate Everything About You" – Three Days Grace

"Again" - Flyleaf

"Believe" – The Bravery

"Edward? What are you…?" It was then that I realized Yours was gone. "Where's Yours, what happened to him?" I looked up to see Emmett turn from me to Edward, and my gaze followed. He was staring at me, his expression torn, his lips pressed together.

His red-delicious lips…

_Fuckincredible._

_Tantalizing._

_Infinitely kissable._

"Holy shit!" The accusation came out as part of as gasp, as the realization came over me. "You're… you're…_him_!" _Fuck me sideways_.

Edward's hand went up and through his hair, which was surprisingly hot considering it had been under a mask for the last hour or so. I didn't want to look at him, but I couldn't stop as glimpses of both Yours and Edward flashed before me – Edward's fuckme smile that first time in my office, the first time I saw Yours kneeling, my finger running over lips, Edwards lips in_ his_ office…

If my head wasn't pounding, I would've smacked my own forehead.

"Bella, I need to get you out of here. We'll discuss…that when I get you where we're going." He said with a glance at Emmett, who turned to look down at me.

"Go with Edward, Bells, he'll take care of you while I take care of…" his chin jutted out toward Jasper, "him." My eyes followed his over to Jasper.

"Jesus, Em, what the fuck did you do to him?" I said, looking at Jasper's still unconscious form.

"Nothing that he didn't deserve." Emmett's tone was unmistakable, and I got the feeling he would've done more if he could've gotten away with it.

I tore my gaze away from Jasper to find Edward still staring at me. His expression didn't hide his concern, and a sudden, unfamiliar warmth started to spread out from my chest, engulfing me. Edward and Yours, one and the same. It was like I was standing in front of an oncoming train, and only Edward was there, his hand was reaching out to me, and the decision I had only a second to make was to take his hand, or…

"Bella, do you think you can stand?" Although Edward's eyes were still holding mine, I forced myself to look back at Emmett.

"What? Yeah. Of course I can stand." I pulled my feet up, noticing my shoes were missing, as Emmett's arms started to pull me up, and the pain shot through my back and my head, causing me to stop and fall back against his arms, which only caused more pain. I hissed as Emmett set my ass back on the floor. My head was spinning as my hand reached for my cheek, sharp stings surged up to my eye.

"Emmett, Edward…" I panted. "M-my back, m-my…" The twinkling stars returned to the edges of my vision, my neck suddenly incapable of holding up my head, and Emmett's arm causing more pain as he slid it up across my back to catch it.

"Edward, quick, get that robe behind the door. You're going to have to carry her out of here and it's better if she's unconscious for it." Emmett barked.

"Bells, I'm going to pull you up by your arms. You may not make it up, but I've got you. Edward's gonna get you out of her, ok? You'll be safe. Can you hear me?" I tried to focus on Emmett's face.

"Yeah."

"Okay, deep breath." I obeyed as Emmett's arms left my back, causing me to flinch, and his hands latched onto my upper arms.

"Put your feet on the floor." He directed, as I brought my head up to look at him.

"Got it," and I pushed my feet against the floor.

"One, two…" Emmett's strong hands pulled me to my feet, and the dizziness was nothing like I'd ever known, "three." His hands gripped my upper arms, holding me up, as a robe came around me.

"Bella, I'm sorry about the pain I'm going to cause you." Edward said behind me, as an arm went behind my knees, and another went around the middle of my back, and Emmett's hands left my arms. My body was hoisted up in the air, and I couldn't help but cry out.

I tried to open my eyes, and when I did, it was his face that I saw, those perfect lips, those emerald eyes looking down on me, their pain, his pain, almost as bad as mine.

"Edward, I'm…I'm all…yours." I whispered to him.

"You've got that backwards, my Queen." He whispered back. It was the last thing I heard.

XxXxXxXxXxX

A gentle swaying woke me, and I realized I was either on a really bad waterbed, or somewhere on water. The cheek that wasn't bruised rested against a superbly soft pillow, my arms spread out on either side of me. Someone had taken off every vestige of clothing, because my naked skin touched high-quality sheets. I blinked my eyes as they opened, adjusting to the light.

_Where the fuck am I?_

"Bella?" Edward's voice came from beside me, and he slid down the bed on his side to see my face. "Don't move too quickly yet. I put some numbing cream on your back and your cheek. As soon as you're ready, I'm going to have you take something for the pain." He was wearing nothing from what I could see, and I let my eyes wander down to see black Calvin boxer briefs.

"Do me a favor?" I asked.

"Anything." He whispered.

"Just touch me. Somewhere. Anywhere. So I know I'm not dreaming." His smile and accompanying chuckle made me smile back, and I only felt a slight tinge on my cheek. I closed my eyes as I felt the backs of his fingers run over my chin like the softest feather, his fingertips carefully brushing the hair from my face, then gently across my shoulder and down my arm. There was something comforting in his touch, something I'd never allowed myself to feel before. I wasn't afraid of it, I craved it, and it was unlike anything I'd ever known.

"Tell me what happened." I asked keeping my eyes closed.

I felt him move closer to me, his hand slowing going over my lower back, and I noticed there was no pain where he touched, just tiny sparks that went through me.

"You remember Jasper coming in?" I could feel his eyes on me, anticipating my reactions.

"Yeah." I mumbled.

"You were about to pass out when he threw you to the floor. You banged your head pretty hard, but then he started hitting you with the cane." Edward's hand went slowly over my skin.

"I only remember the once." I didn't know if it was my pounding eyeball, or the feel of Edward's hand over my skin, but I was finding it hard to concentrate.

"That's good, because he kept at it, even after you were out. I was…I couldn't…Emmett came storming through the door and took him out with one punch. God Bella, he kept hitting you and I couldn't..." I opened my eyes to see that his were clenched shut. I moved my hand down slowly to touch his cheek, running my thumb over it. The pain over my back was not nearly what it was, as movement again reminded me of being on water.

"Where the hell are we?"

"Mmmm, on my boat," he said nonchalantly.

"You…you have a boat? How did you get me on a fucking boat?" I brought my hand back and curled my arm up next to me.

"Yes, I own a boat, actually Emmett and I do. It was quite simple, actually, much easier than I thought it would be. You were unconscious, so I carried you. Anyone I saw just thought you were drunk and passed out."

"Wait, you and Emmett own this? How…?" Suddenly I remembered something I'd heard.

_Don't worry, I have someplace I can hide her. I'll call Dad if I need to, but I know what to do._

"Emmett and I are brothers, Bella." _Brothers_? Holy fuck. It was probably a good thing that Emmett and I had never…

"You have a fuckton of explaining to do…_Yours_." I sighed.

"Yeah, I do, but there's plenty of time for it." He said, getting up slowly. "Stay right here."

"And just where the fuck do you think I'm gonna go?" I lazily threw out. He laughed a hot as hell from-the-gut laugh, as I watched him slide off the bed and walk away. I turned slowly to my side, only feeling a little sting, and looked around. If I was on a boat, then this was a decent size bedroom on a pretty big boat. I could only imagine what the rest of it looked like.

"Here. Take these now." Edward said kneeling next to the bed and holding out one hand with some pills and the other with a glass of water. I reached for the pills, again feeling only a slight sting, and then the water to wash them down. I handed him the glass and once again put my head on the pillow, my hand underneath it.

"You're staying put for now, Your Majesty. I'm your servant, and your ass is mine until I say so. Are we clear?" he smiled through the order, as he climbed in next to me, once again putting his hand on my back.

"For now." I smiled closing my eyes. "Edward?" The jostling underneath me told me he had moved closer, and I opened my eyes again to see his face next to mine. "Thank you."

"Anything for you, my Queen." As he said it, he leaned in and softly touched those beautiful lips to mine.

I spent all of that first day on my stomach, only getting up to go to the bathroom. While Edward's attention never wavered, I drew the line at the bathroom, telling him I could handle taking a pee all by myself. There were just some things I never compromised on. On one trip, I happened to see my cheek and the nice purple bruise that covered it, along with my eye. I looked like I'd been in a fight. I had turned around to see my back: the skin of my shoulder blades where my corset hadn't covered had numerous red welts, some bloody, all over. Where my corset had protected me, there seemed to be only red lines.

"I'll fucking kill him when I get my hands on him."

"No need." Edward said from the other side of the door. I let what he said go, figuring I'd get to that part of the story tomorrow. Whatever he was giving me was helping me with the pain, but also knocking the shit out of me. Between the pills, the gentle rocking of the boat, and Edward almost never leaving my side except to get me food, I slept through most of the day.

By the second day, I attempted to shower, Edward offering to help. I didn't want him anywhere near me when the water first hit. I knew the marks would sting like a motherfucker, and I didn't want him to see…or hear… me like that. Although at first I smothered the whimpers pressing my lips tightly together, I was able to breathe through the pain and the rest of the shower. Edward, either because he didn't hear me, or for another reason, stayed silent outside the door. He gave me one of his tees and his underwear to wear, although I looked ludricrous because the things hardly stayed up on my hips.

Edward offered to help me to the front of the boat and I jumped at the chance to get out of the bedroom, even for a bit. I took a seat on a barstool alongside a counter as Edward made me another sandwich for breakfast.

"I never eat sandwiches for breakfast," I state matter-of-factly.

"Sorry, my Queen, but it's all we've got until Emmett gets here." He leaned over the counter on his arms.

"Emmett's coming?" I asked before taking another bite.

"Yeah. He's bringing over provisions and clothes for you." He said still watching me eat.

"Do you mind?" I said, not looking up.

"What?"

I put the sandwich down on the plate. "I feel like I'm on 24-hour suicide watch here. I'm not going anywhere, even though I could probably swim to shore."

He laughed out loud and left the counter for the built in bench seat on the other side of the room, lounging across it his head in his hand. The pose screamed fuckme, and nearly distracted me from the answers I had to have.

"What happened to Jasper?"

His playful expression of moments before turned serious. "He's been taken care of."

The slight tensing of his body told me he was controlling his anger, even though I could feel it all the way where I was sitting. "I had motions in the works even before that night. He had the audacity to show up at the office yesterday." He suddenly sat up, his elbows on his knees rubbing his fist into the palm of his other hand. Something told me it wasn't just me itchin' to beat the shit out of Jasper. "Emmett's guy could only get a disorderly conduct charge to stick. I had people at the office ready to fire his ass and escort him out. He's under investigation, but it's only a formality. He'll be going to jail, Bella."

I picked up my sandwich, now very intent on eating it. Edward new Jasper and I had been fucking. Would there be residual effects? Would I now suddenly be part of his mess? Or had he somehow fucked me for the last time and implicated me in whatever he was doing?

As if reading my mind, "Bella, you're safe; I checked. He didn't have time to screw with you, although I'm pretty sure he was figuring out how he could. I think when he couldn't find a way, he followed you that night. I think he was going to…"

Edward's pause didn't hide what I knew he was going to say, so I said the words myself.

"Kill me."

When he didn't say anything I looked over at him, taking the last bite of my sandwich. He stared at the floor, and his silence affirmed what I already knew. The food in my mouth suddenly became very hard to swallow.

"He didn't plan on it being me behind the mask, or my having told Emmett when I got there about earlier in the afternoon," he offered not looking up.

I flashed back to that afternoon and Jasper in my office. "He tried…in my office that afternoon…he tried to…assert his _authority_ over me. I was so pissed at him for the way he acted in the meeting…I was so pissed at you for later on in your office…I didn't want…anyone touching me. He…he…" I couldn't finish, watching the scene unfold, remember Jasper's fury, but I didn't need to as Edward came flying off the bench. His hands came up to cup my cheeks. I wasn't crying, I never cried, but I was damn near close to it. I let my forehead fall forward against Edward's body, and his one hand went to the safe zone of my lower back, while the other held the back of my head.

"Did he hurt you?" Edward asked, his lips in my hair.

"No, not really," I sighed. "You know about him and me, and well, he…changed roles on me. It was…disturbing. He threatened me when I didn't want to, pushing me on my desk, shoving his fingers…" for some reason I couldn't finish, and Edward's chest rose, letting out a deep breath. "Rose's knock is what stopped him."

"Rose?"

"Yeah, we had a meeting. A legitimate one. She…I…" Edward already knew that too, so there really was no point. "I left her standing in my doorway and I asked her to reschedule. I wanted…" At that point in the day, all that I had wanted was to see…

"I wanted to…to see Yours. I was going to...take my day out on him. I wanted Jasper, your office…_you _out of my head."

"I was in your head?" Edward finally asked and I half-laughed.

"Yes you were, bright boy. I, um, was trying to figure out how to…never mind." I couldn't look up, but Edward's hand on my chin brought my face up to his.

"You were trying to figure out how to earn my trust in order to get me into bed. That was the whole bringing in the files thing. Am I right?" He smiled down at me.

"Well, yes, partly. That had been my…initial plan. But something…things changed. In your office." He let go of my face and took my hand.

"C'mon. Let's get you some sun and fresh air on deck while we wait for Emmett, ok?" I nodded, the sudden change in subject had me reeling, but I went along with it.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Emmett came, staying just long enough to make sure we were ok, leaving me a bunch of new clothes and underwear. I giggled thinking of Emmett in La Perla shopping for me. Edward had explained since we left everything in the dressing room when we ran, Emmett had my keys to my apartment, but neither he nor Edward felt right about going into my place to get clothes, so Edward made Emmett go shopping. He'd apparently done it before. I didn't want to know.

That night, over reheated Lou Malnati's pizza, I decided to get the rest of my questions answered.

"Edward, why were you there? Why were you…Yours?" I was sitting at the counter, and Edward was once again sitting on the bench. When I didn't get an immediate answer, I turned to look at him and I could tell he was trying to figure out how to answer.

"Just out with it, Cullen. Yeah, I've been through hell, but I'm fine now and you owe me that much." I owed him far more, but I wasn't going to admit it. If this was all some sort-of game for him, I needed to find out what _his_ angle was.

"Actually, it was Emmett." He took another bite of pizza and I waited, rather impatiently for him to finish chewing.

"He…he told me about you. When I decided to accept the VP position, I realized I'd be coming to Chicago. Emmett spilled the beans accidentally one conversation, calling you Bella. I put two-and-two together when I was milling over the background checks I had done on all the upper-execs, and grilled him to get your last name. He is my brother, after-all, and I know where all of _his _weaknesses lie." He laughed taking another bite.

I almost choked. Edward had known all along. He purposely set out to…Emmett had _told_ him about me.

"Why the dance, then? Why the whole 'I don't like games, Bella' at the office? We could've just fucked and gotten the whole thing over with." I said with a casualness I didn't feel. I stared at my pizza not wanting to look at him. I wasn't sure I wanted to hear anymore.

"Because, I needed to see the way you acted, the way you worked. I wanted to figure out exactly what Jasper, Rose, and you were up to. There were suspicions about Jasper long before I got there, but nobody could get it to stick. I needed to figure out whose side you were on, if you were involved, what Rose's whole role was. I didn't know if the three of you were in it together or…" He stopped just momentarily to pick up another slice of pizza.

"When you came to my office that day, giving me your reports of what you'd found, I still didn't trust you. But something changed that day. You came in with something else in your head, and you left…completely different, and not because of Jasper."

I looked up to find him staring at me, those penetrating green eyes waiting for my next word, my next move. Edward and I, in just the last few days, had established the initial countering moves of an elaborate chess game; it was now time to move my queen from the cover she had been hiding behind.

I dropped the half slice of pizza I'd been eating, suddenly not able to finish it. My stomach was suddenly churning. Edward wanted me to say aloud what I was yet unwilling to admit myself.

"But that doesn't explain why you felt the need to know me for…Heaven." I asked glancing up.

"Fuck, Bella." He said shaking his head back and forth. "Emmett and I own that club together, although I've never been there. Obviously, I had my needs met closer to where I used to live, and mostly in my home. Like I said, he told me about you, said you were…my type, although not in your…taste. But I…needed to…get to know you, I'm not sure I even know why, and so I…"

"You came in as anew submissive_, requesting me_?"

"Well, yeah. It was the only way I could figure out… besides, you would have never come to _me_ as mine, since, well, that isn't your thing." He grinned.

"Hold on." I stopped to process what he'd just said. "I wouldn't have come to _you_ as _your_…"

"Bella…" His grin faded as he stared at the pizza he was about to bite, until his eyes roamed the expanse between us and met mine, the perfect emeralds piercing through me. "I'm normally a dom."

I nearly fell off the stool, grabbing the counter with my hand to steady myself. Edward immediately noticed and was off the couch standing in front of me in two shakes of a stick. He held the counter with one hand, and I could feel his struggle over whether or not to touch me, but something in me wanted it. Craved it. He had thrown caution to the wind, subjecting himself to what he didn't want, what he didn't need, in order to…be with me.

"Why, Edward? Why?"

His free hand once again ran through that fuckhot hair, and I felt a tug of my muscles in my abdomen. I slid off the barstool to stand in front of him, grabbing his hand, marveling in his long fingers. Magic fingers that had touched me, made me come like I'd never thought possible. I let it drop, walking up closer, putting both hands on his chest. His arms were around me, his hands on my ass, and I couldn't wait anymore. My hand slid up, my fingers running through that hair, those emerald eyes meeting mine as I let the silky texture tickle my fingertips sending tingles down to my toes.

"Because Emmett said you were the _Queen_. I wanted to know everything about you, Bella: all sides, all worlds, all of you. I wanted to know the businesswoman and the…woman in the bedroom, because…because the King needs his Queen."

My eyes dropped from his, focusing on his chest, once again trying to process what he'd just said. This was seriously fucked up. So fucked up that somewhere inside me a voice shouted _you're meant for each other._

I laid my head against his chest. "Well King, this Queen needs a…well, she doesn't really need a King, she prefers a Yours. But how about showing me your scepter?"

XxXxXxXxXxX

A flick of a remote had Edward's tunes blasting from a stereo, a selection I knew well. He didn't waste time getting me to the bedroom and ripping his clothes from my body. I wasn't sure how to play this new game of ours, two doms together was not in the playbook, at least not one I knew. But his kiss, his tongue spoke to me in ways no other had, and I was willing to go with it, although only slightly.

I knew he was trying to be cautious with my back, but I didn't want to be. I pulled his shorts down to his ankles and pushed him toward the edge of the bed, focusing on one thing and one thing only, that magnificent cock in my mouth. Being a dom, I was sure that would please him.

He sat down obediently, his hands on either side of him, as I knelt in front of him. I took him in my hand first, watching his face, as he breathed in with my touch. I licked up from the base of him and then over the tip, as his hand grasped the top of my head telling me what he wanted. I slowly slid my lips over him, going halfway, and then back out, my hand massaging what he thought I couldn't get to. Then, after enough teasing, I took him all the way in, and I could feel his thighs tense on either side of me, a low moan escaping him. His salty taste appealed to me like no other.

I could feel him building and was ready for him to come in my mouth, when suddenly he squeezed my shoulders.

"What's the matter?" I stopped sucking and looked up.

"C'mere." He started to push back on the bed, and I crawled up on the edge of it.

"Did I, was that not…?" I didn't even know how to ask if I'd done something wrong.

"Can you lie down and shut the fuck up? I want to play with _you_ now." He smiled and took my hand, guiding me forward. I turned around and gingerly lay back, although there really was no pain, at least none that I could feel now.

The familiar fire grew between my legs, as his hand caressed over my skin, down between my thighs, his fingers grazing over my clit, and up my stomach to cup my breast. My hips rose from the bed when his fingers left the spot I most wanted them. He stretched one hand and then leg over me, hovering, searching, looking as if he wanted to speak.

I lifted my head up, wrapping my hand around his neck pulling him down. My tongue plunged against his, both of them fighting for dominance, as I felt his finger slide again over my clit to my entrance, sliding two in and out in rhythm with his tongue.

"My King," I panted. "Quit fucking teasing me. I want your dick inside me, and I'm not going to say please."

He reached toward the side of the bed, and I grabbed his arm, pulling it back. "Nuh uh, I'm good. You?"

"Just tested." He stared down at me for a millisecond and then hopped off the side of the bed, pulling my hand with him. I quickly moved to him and he spun me around, pushing on the back of my neck, just above the red marks, until my arms stretched out on the mattress for support and I was bent over.

_Sweet fuck from behind._

With his one hand still at my neck, he slowly guided himself in to me, as if he were being careful, too careful. Until I felt his fingers on my ass and all I could think was faster, harder. His dick slid in and out of me, both hands clutching me, picking up the pace.

"Harder, Ed…m-my King." It was what he needed to hear, as he suddenly drove into me like a battering ram. Everything in me want to cry out, to scream, but old habits died hard, and my arms started to shake with the tensing of my muscles.

I recognized his sounds, his moans, from our first night, knowing again how close he was, so I brought my fingers to the spot, my spot, which would send me over. It was all I could do to balance on one bent arm when my insides started to squeeze around him. I held on, breathing through tightly clenched teeth, trying to…

"Ed…ward, I…" His name slipped through my lips, and I almost didn't realize it. But then I didn't care, loving the feel of it over my tongue.

"Bell…fuck!" With one last thrust, his hands gripped my waist, and my insides exploded around him. My forehead hit the mattress, the waves overcoming me, the tiny flickering stars once again behind my closed eyes. I felt his body rut into me once more, his muscles shaking where they pressed against my skin, and I could no longer support myself and started to fall forward, but his strong arm caught me. He held me tightly against him, my body limp, riding out his own orgasm. I was floating, suspended, until I felt him pull out, and he gathered me up in his arms. My back pain ceased to exist, as my head lolled back, every nerve ending zinging.

He laid me softly on the bed, my back against the cool sheets. It didn't hurt, nothing hurt, everything felt fucktastic and wondrous and….perfect. I grinned behind closed eyes. Edward Cullen _was_ the fuck of the century.

"What so funny?" He asked, sliding in next to me, resting his head on one tit, while he possessively cupped the other one, running his thumb over it.

"Mmmm." The only sound I could make. Just like he had done that first night, I was again rendered speechless, senseless, merely existing. He kissed over my collarbone and up the side of my neck.

"Bella, my Queen, are you alright?" I barely heard him, even feeling through closed eyes that he was now looking at me, the warmth of his cheek having left my skin. It was as if all knowledge, all feeling, everything that I'd ever searched for came crashing together and burst like fireworks before my eyes.

"Edward, I …I said your name."

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A/N:

AaaaHA! Everyone get the title now? *grins*

Again, I will be finishing Second Chances, my other fic, first, and then moving back to this one, so hopefully you'll stick with me. I appreciate all of your wonderful reviews, and frankly if it weren't for you, I wouldn't be continuing this! Well that, and all of the nasty little plot bunnies about this that are in my sick mind just begging to be set free.

Thanks for reading, and reviewing, and I hope to see you back here real soon! Mwah!


	5. Chapter 5

SURPRISE! Yeah, so I wasn't feeling 2C this week, and all of a sudden even more plot bunnies for this little fic assaulted me while I was away on business. Total utter hell in that I had no time to write them, not to mention trying to remember them all for when I got home!

Smoochies and megahumps go to my Pufferfish, HammerHips for record time turnaround, to my wifey MistressGemGem for saying I flipped what had been a shitty day for her around, and AlexisDanaan for her love, and coming up with a new fic that she let me read the first bits!

As always, I don't own dick. Not even Edward's.

Enjoy...

* * *

**Chapter 5**

"I can handle myself, Edward. I'm not interested in getting all co-habitational." I said from my perch at the bar, eating the last of my scrambled eggs. Thank God it wasn't another sandwich.

A long sigh, and the clank of silverware against china, and I knew enough that the _King _was slightly miffed.

"Bella, I'm not asking you to move in, I'm asking you to stay with me a few days, until things settle down." Edward's frustration was clearly evident, and getting more so each time we had this discussion.

"No." Keeping my gaze on my plate, I muttered before I swallowed the last bit of breakfast Edward had cooked for us both.

"Goddammit, Bella." He pushed away from the bar, taking his dish and slamming it into the sink, his back now to me. I only knew because at this point I snuck a look at him. "Why can't you just…cooperate?" His shoulders sank as he said it, and then he turned and walked away, taking the stairs to the upper deck.

It had been like this for the last twenty-four hours. At first, it was an invitation, delivered amidst the post-coital bliss of our last fuck. Jasper had disappeared, Emmett having phoned saying that after the cops had let him go, he'd fallen off the grid. Emmett had his men—I should say his and Edward's goons—scouring Chicago, the airports, trains, rental car companies, not to mention the states of Wisconsin, Indiana, and Iowa.

But _Ass_per was nowhere to be found.

Edward thought he had help, someone either on the inside, or someone who knew enough to work the system. He'd interrogated me yesterday on any and all possibilities at the office, any outside-of-the office acquaintances, fuck buddies, anyone who might have a connection. I tried to tell him that I knew of no one, that Jasper and I…well, we didn't operate that way. It was sex, and release, and that conversation hardly ever came into play, not to mention a threesome. I was plenty enough to handle.

I grinned slightly as I remembered saying those words to Edward. They were enough for him to hop up off the bench where he had been, grab me off the stool where I had been, and shove me up against the nearest wall. I stood, while he tongue-fucked me, my fingers twisting in his hair, my thighs quivering, about ready to pop, when he stopped suddenly and said, "You're staying with me, Bella. It's not a request."

It took one glance down at him, and my hand shoving his head with the talented tongue from me to disengage myself from his hands on my hips. I walked, rather difficultly, to the bathroom, slamming the door behind me.

_Trying to fuck me into submission, Cullen? King, my ass._

I locked the door, flinging my shirt over my head since the yoga pants I had been wearing were still somewhere in the galley. Waiting 'til the water was good and hot, I stepped in, letting it singe my skin, my fingers finishing what he had started, eliminating the need, taking control. Control of my body, control of my thoughts, control of the situation.

No one told Bella Swan what to do, and no one used sex to get it. Well, _except_ for me.

Our last day, yesterday, had been tense to say the least, both of us spending as little time together in what little room there was to keep apart. Edward had been on deck, I could only assume using what little juice was left in his crackberry pretending either to work, or how to get me to his place and keep me there. Thoughts of being tied up at Edward's admittedly took up at least an hour or two of my day, and damn if I wasn't quite sure what to make of it. I hadn't been restrained in years, since the beginning actually, when I'd been trained, recognizing early on that my talents were best served on the other side of the dom/sub relationship.

But Edward and I, this… this überfucked thing we had. He had been patient these last few days, and so had I, both of us foraging through what was uncharted territory. While the sex had been fucktastic even with my still-tender back, I wasn't sure anymore _what_ I wanted. Oh, I knew for damn sure I wanted to own his dick, just like I had that first day in the office. The problem was, I knew he wanted to own _me_, and somewhere deep inside I knew he was close. I'd never believed in the tugging of heartstrings bullshit, the flutterings of the internal organs that made women replace good sense with gushy nonsense. Until he looked at me with those fucking emerald eyes, and the smirk that would launch a waterfall between my legs.

That look that said he was about to fuck me every way to Sunday.

Yeah, _that._

It was then that my insides betrayed my brain, and the more I thought about it the more frustrated I became.

I'd slipped into bed alone tonight, our last night on the boat. Edward was once again up top somewhere, avoiding me as much as I was avoiding him. I didn't bother to check to see what he was doing, nor had he come below. For a minute or two, I felt like diving off the edge and making a swim for it, just to be free of it all: of this fucking boat, of this fucking prison, of…_him_. Instead, I climbed into bed naked, curling up under the sheet, hoping to torture him when he finally joined me and I refused his touch.

_You're fuckin' him, aren't ya? _

It was Jasper, his hand around my throat, squeezing tighter with each passing second. I could just make out we were in my office, as his other hand tore open my blouse.

_Jazz_… I was only able to squeak out, my voice unable to project the power I needed it to. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't scream for help. JesusHChrist he was going to kill me.

_I'm going to finish what I started, Beller. With my hands around your neck and my dick inside you, I'm going to make you scream like you never have, before I put us both out of misery._

Grabbing his shoulders, I shoved him, letting out a wail with everything I had, or at least I thought I did, my body wiggling and squirming trying to…

"Bella!"

Jasper had somehow ripped my skirt from me, his pants around his ankles, his mouth now on mine, pressing, suffocating…

"Bella, wake up! It's just a dream!"

There were hands on my shoulders shaking me, somehow I knew this, but I screamed again, this time my eyes popping open, attempting to focus, blinking away what had been Jasper's face, to find Edward's. His shirtless body sat on the edge of the bed, his one hand leaving my shoulder to cup my face where something wet caught the chill of the air. My eyes glanced around the room, until I looked up in his. I could still feel Jasper, still _see_ Jasper, and I started to shake uncontrollably.

Edward's arms pulled me to him, but I couldn't push away. I had the strength of a ragdoll, until the realization slowly seeped in that it had only been a nightmare. I reached for him, my arms suddenly finding the strength to pull him to me, my fingertips boring into his skin, wanting him, _needing_ him, and not wanting to fight that need.

"He was, it was…him, Edward. He was…" I sputtered into his skin as I dug my cheek into his chest. "He said he was going to finish…what he started." I said through clipped breaths, and I realized I was sobbing. I couldn't _ever_ fucking remember sobbing, at least not in a man's arms.

"Fuck." Edward muttered, beginning to rock me back and forth, and the next realization scared me even more than Jasper. I had a nightmare. Edward was here. I was in his arms.

And I liked it.

The thought sent a shockwave through me, and I pushed away, laying back down, rolling on my side, curling the covers up with me into a tight ball. It was all too much, all too real. All of it. Jasper, Edward, my internal walls crumbling around me. I squeezed my eyes shut, but it was Jasper's face I saw. I opened them, sensing Edward was getting undressed, and the dip of the mattress next to me let me know that he was now behind me yet not touching me. I wanted his arms around me, I didn't want his arms around me. I wanted it to all go away, the past two weeks, of my world turning upside down, of the rollercoaster ride.

Of everything spiraling out of control.

"Fuck!" I screamed into the covers clenched tightly in my fist that I now held up against my mouth, so loud that my body shook again, and this time Edward inched up behind me, his hand going around my hip and pulling me to him. This time, I didn't pull away. This time I let the warmth of his skin, his chest at my still-scarred back, envelope me.

His lips at my ear whispered, "It's going to be ok."

"I know. It was just a fucking dream." I managed to whisper back.

"It's more than that. I get it. Trust me." His thumb gently grazed my stomach as he said it. I wanted to believe him. I really _did_ want to trust in the fact that he knew, understood even. Even thinking about the word trust sent another shiver through me, Edward feeling it, his hand moving up to underneath my tits, his fingers splayed open as if trying to hold all of me in the palm of his hand while simultaneously pulling me as close as possible to him.

I merely nodded, unable to remotely verbalize anything more than I already had. My head was so fucked, I barely remembered how to breathe.

"Just relax. Sleep. I'll be here right here. We'll figure out everything else…later." His lips on the side of my head punctuated each sentence, until I felt him settle in next to me.

Tenderness. Yes, this is what this was. Something so foreign I barely knew the word, and again that stirring inside of me that only Edward unlocked. I pushed back into him, turning around and pressing him onto his back. My leg slowly slid over his middle, feeling his semi-hard cock brush against my thigh as it did. Straddling him, I rocked, feeling his cock brushing my ass, my hands pressing into his chest, my fingernails scraping as I moved my body. The surprise on his face only lasted a moment, until his wide-eyes lessened, and the look that sent tingles through me took over.

"Take it all away, Edward. Take _me_ away, My King." I whispered, my hand reaching between us, wrapping it around that huge cock of his to guide it into me. His hands came up to grab my breasts, squeezing as I rode him, nothing existing in my head anymore but for us to find oblivion together.

"From your lips, My Queen."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Fucking piece of shit." I threw my pen across my office, hitting the opposite wall. Trying to work, trying to think through this fucking fiasco of my life was getting more difficult by the day. After that last night on the boat, and at breakfast the next morning, Edward and I had come to a _compromise_.

Yeah, some fucking compromise.

He basically became my bodyguard, albeit a fuckhot and useful one. He escorted me to and from the office, either in my car or his well-appointed Mercedes SL63 AMG, and stayed with me at my place until I either kicked him the fuck out, or asked him to stay. Sometimes, he was quite persuasive in overcoming my attempts to boot his ass, and frankly, on occasion, I wanted him there. I didn't tell him the nightmares were worse on nights he wasn't with me. I didn't tell him of waking up screaming and sweaty, unable to breathe.

Doing so would've made me look weak. Or at least that's what my head kept telling me.

It had been a month since that shittastic day when Edward Cullen had nearly busted in on me and Jasper going at it in this very office. Every time I thought about that day, those few days where Mr. Emerald FuckMe Eyes had upended everything that I had worked for, everything that I knew and accepted, everything that had taken me years to build and organize, my anger and frustration grew. Staring at these boring four walls had not helped in erasing them, or to focus my mind elsewhere. They only proved to remind and reinforce.

Above all, I couldn't go to Heaven. Emmett had shut down the upstairs operations until things calmed down, whether it was on his own or Edward's request, I didn't ask. I had lost my oasis, my kingdom where I ruled, where I could find escape, and with it I sensed my control slipping.

_That_ pissed me off even more.

So I poured myself deeper into my work, attempting to sign two new titles with brand new authors, relationships I had been fostering over the past year in order to make my signing goal. Rose had come to me that first week wanting an explanation, and I could only assume more. I was cold, but professional, not allowing her even the faintest hint of where my head had gone, or what had happened. She was too smart to let it go at first, questioning and digging, things I admired most about the way she operated. The way she did her job.

Rose didn't take no for an answer, except with me. She knew her place.

I couldn't fault her for finding ways to circumvent my refusals, and so she came up with other avenues, our upcoming National Sales Meeting for one, excuses to meet with me, a fact that didn't go unnoticed. The big Hoo-Hah was in a week, and being held downtown at the newly-built Trump Tower, culminating in an awards dinner and masked ball at the Art Institute. The company was sparing no expense for its first Chicago sales meeting in ten years; our previous year, and sales through the first half of this one were still exceeding goals, even with the Jasper bullshit.

I found myself no longer wanting to be with Rose, in that sense anyway, and as days passed, and her attempts failed, our meetings grew more and more about what were going to do for the sales meeting, and less about her doing me. Which was good, the more I thought about it, and yet the thought of being exclusive with Edward brought up that whole pent-up frustration of ownership. Like I should have papers or something.

Name: Bella Swan

Pedigree: Psychotic bitch

Shots: Tequila, sometimes Jameson, always anything given to her.

Certifications: Publisher, Dom*

Relationship status: Unknown, and getting more unknown

*May need recertification after current events

Before I'd even realized it, I'd picked out another pen and doodled that little piece of hilarity on the notepad in front of me. Quickly ripping off the page, I tore it into tiny bits and threw it in my garbage. The last thing I fucking needed was someone getting their eyes on that.

Suddenly, my phone rang, the caller ID telling me it was Edward. I hesitated for only a moment, long enough to know something was up, because Edward and I had been steering clear of each other in the office. Only once had I even daydreamed of introducing him to the fuckroom.

"Edward." I answered as unaffected as I could.

"Come to my office." He said quickly, and with just a touch of arrogance.

"I'll be right there." I hung up the phone, staring at the receiver. Edward hadn't used that tone with me, not in the office anyway, for weeks. It reminded me of that first conversation.

_I know who you are._

Something was going down, and it wasn't good.

I grabbed my notepad and some file that had nothing to do with shit from the top of my desk, walking down the hall just like the Bella Swan of old would do. Poise, confidence, smiling at some, ignoring others. Mary was at her desk as I approached Edward's door.

"Just go in, Miss Swan. He's expecting you." With that, she abruptly stood up, my hand turning the doorknob as I watched her go away. As if she already knew…

What the fuck was going on?

"Edward?" I pushed open the door, and saw him gazing out the window, his back to me, just like he had been that day I came to win his trust. I nearly snorted at the memory.

"Come in, Bella, and close and lock the door behind you, please." He said without turning. I did as he asked, walking to stand in front of his desk, and dropping my fake props on top of it. I scanned his papers and files as quickly as I could for any clue what might have made him summon me, but it was financials and proposals, one of mine still in its folder off to the side.

"You're coming home with me tonight, Bella. I don't want any arguments." He suddenly said, the tenor of his voice just this side of angry, as if he were trying to hide it.

"Edward, while I do appreciate the lengths at which you've been…extending yourself, I am not Whitney Houston, and you're not Kevin Costner."

He spun around so fast, the bottom of his suit jacket flew out and it almost made me giggle, my Superward and his charcoal Armani cape. I must've let slip a smile.

"Do you think this is funny? Do you think someone…" he stopped abruptly, taking the distance between us in three, maybe four quick strides. He grabbed my shoulders, his fingers tightly clutching, too tightly, and for a moment, I was reminded of Assper, and his last attempt at me in my office. I shrugged out of his grip, but glanced up at him, his eyes finding mine, and I didn't need him to tell me. It was there, written all over his face.

"Edward, I'm-"

"Don't make me carry you out of here for everyone to see. Go now, get your things, and meet me downstairs in the garage." His expression was nothing if not stern, but there was something else, as if he was upset I had pulled away.

"Just tell me, dammit." I said, stepping slowly back from him. I'd only seen the look on Edward's face once. "Something's happened."

"You have ten minutes." He turned from me, going to his desk, beginning to organize the papers strewn all over it. "Nine." He barked, without looking up.

I took one last glance of him. Part of me wanted to run, do exactly as he said. The other wanted to tell him to take his overprotective bullshit and shove it up his ass. I chose the former, but rather than running, I walked swiftly from his office.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Mystery of You" – Red

"Letters from the Sky" – Civil Twilight

I shifted in my seat once more, the third time I had crossed and uncrossed my legs. Edward was quiet, too quiet, as he drove the Stevenson like it was Indy, his soundsystem blaring a song I'd never heard, the lyrics fucking with my already fucked-over psyche.

"Are you ever gonna tell me what the hell happened?" I asked, not even glancing at him.

From the corner of my eye, I could see the fingers of his left hand squeeze the steering wheel tighter, as his right hand hit the shift to take us to Mach 10.

"We're going for sushi, and then I'm going to take you home and fuck you proper."

My head whipped to my left, catching his profile and his jaw clenching. Not dwelling on the fact that he completely dodged my question, a familiar feeling made me squirm once again in my seat, my thighs rubbing together of their own volition. The helicopter blades were back, and Edward knew it too, as his glance went to my lap, and his fingers around the gearshift stretched open and closed again. Edward had never used that tone with me, that complete and utter you're mine and you will obey. Oh, I'd heard it before, from others in my past, but never from Edward.

_Fuck me proper you will, My King._

It suddenly occurred to me that I hardly knew the man sitting next to me. That what I'd seen in the last week was a blip, an alteration of what had been, and the significance made my stomach do a triple twist. If I were to really think about it, not that I wanted to, there had been changes in me – variations of myself that were as strange and unnerving as the words that had just passed those infinitely kissable lips of his. This continuing chess match between Edward Fuck-of-the-Century Cullen and my libido was about to get considerably hotter than it was between my legs at this very moment.

Fuck if that's where I didn't want it. Him. Before the end of the night.

The Japanese Sushi place was damn near empty when we arrived. Being only just after five o'clock, I was hardly hungry, but smart enough not to even mention it. The waiter led us to an out of the way booth, Edward slipping him something most likely to grease the seating, but with nobody in the place, I didn't see a reason. I slid into the booth, while Edward ordered wine, but I didn't even care enough to hear what it was. All I could think of was what information had provoked the sudden change in Edward, and the images my mind was conjuring of just what he would do later. Hard as I tried, though, I couldn't sit quietly, so I tried one more time.

"Edward, not telling me what happened is only going to piss me off more, which in turn will cause me to piss you off more." I didn't look up from my menu as I made my case. It was the truth. I knew it. He knew it.

His deep inhale made me look up, and only made me more determined. "I'll find out, eventually."

He dropped his menu, and gave me a good long look. His eyes roamed my face, then my neck, then my tits, and then back up to meet my gaze. "There was a threat today, against your life, intercepted by the mailroom and delivered to me."

I sat back in my seat. A threat? "What kind of threat?"

"A threat, Bella. What other kind is there?" Again with the aggravation. Well, I'd show him aggravation.

My tirade was interrupted by the waiter, Edward and I ordering, shockingly he let me do so on my own.

I quirked my eyebrow to say the previous discussion was not finished as the waiter left. "What did it say?"

"It doesn't matter. Thinly-veiled it wasn't." He took a long sip of wine trying to end my questioning.

I pretended to straighten my skirt. Someone had sent a death threat to the office. Edward must have had a hand in the guys in the mailroom checking for suspicious packages or mail with my name on it. In some ways, I felt violated, in others, tremendously thankful. What if it hadn't just been a threat, what if it had been…something worse? My fingers inadvertently went through my hair, pulling it from my face, as I mimicked Edward's very long sip of wine. It was Chardonnay, and it was quite nice. I drank some more, suddenly wanting a buzz very bad.

Someone wanted to kill me, and that someone could only be Jasper.

I finished my wine, setting down my glass, and reached for the bottle at the same time Edward did. "Bella, although it is a very good Chardonnay, I'd rather we enjoyed it with the meal, rather than finishing it beforehand."

I pulled my hand back, feeling and most likely looking like a petulant child. I signaled the waiter. "I'd like a Grey Goose, extra dirty, blue cheese olives if you have them."

I could feel Edward's eyes drilling a hole through my head.

"Have your wine, then." I glanced back at him.

"Bella, this dinner was not meant to be a war," he said, taking another drink. "I just…" he shifted in his seat. Seems I wasn't the only one uncomfortable, and I wished momentarily I could see his lap. "I feel…very protective of you."

My mouth dropped open and I laughed, not because it was funny, but more out of surprise. "No Edward, you want to shove me in a room without windows, lock the door, and throw away the key. I can't live like that."

I set my hands flat on the table. Any other time, any other place, any other circumstance, I would've walked. The air was stifling, my fingers fidgeting, intertwining, tugging and pulling, until his hand reached across the table, and he rested it on top of mine.

"Don't fight me on this, Bella. I can't stand the thought of…" his other hand came up, as he took my hands in his, "I will not let you get hurt again."

I had been staring at his hands, our hands joined over the table, when the full meaning of his words hit me. While Jasper had nearly choked and beaten me, Edward had been cuffed, unable to stop him. Unable to help me.

He was overcompensating.

"I've been taking care of myself for a long time." I said, pulling my hands from his.

"True, but how many times have you had someone trying to kill you?" He jested.

"Touché, Mr. Cullen." I mumbled as the waiter with impeccable timing walked up with the first dishes.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Edward opened the door of his 24th floor condo. Lake Point Towers, aptly named because it was literally a clover-shaped high-rise right at the pinnacle of Randolph and Lake Shore Drive. Beautiful views of the Lake, with an accompanying relevant price tag. He must have offshore accounts somewhere. Drug smuggling maybe? I knew what a VP made, and although it was substantial, the Mercedes he drove, and this address made me think there was even more to Mr. Enigmaward than I would ever know.

"Make yourself at home." He was gracious, yes, and as I walked down the hall, into the main room, the manliness of the décor was evident, but in a comforting way. Brown leather, and muted neutrals, very little decoration or knickknacks, save for a few. It reminded me of something authentically Tuscan, but not in an overbearing way. A massive flat screen TV took up on wall, along with technological wonders and a collection of CDs to rival an Amazon warehouse.

His voice floated over to me from a bar on the opposite end of the room. "I had Emmett pick some things up for you again, for at least a few days. You and I will be working from here tomorrow, and at least through the weekend."

I spun around from where I had been studying his music, having noticed NIN seemed to be a favorite.

"We can't possibly stay cooped-" He shook a martini shaker either to stop me from finishing my sentence, or to drown out what I was going to say. He poured one, and then brought it and a beer for himself over to me, a peace offering handed to me with a pretty stem and three blue-cheese olives.

"How did you-"

"Might I remind you, I know everything about you. Oh, and the fact that you just ordered one two hours ago." His mischievous grin turned into that devastating smile, my panties growing as wet as the martini in my hand.

I chanced a sip. Perfect. Damn the boy was good.

I decided on another tactic. "Well, now that you have me here, what _are_ you going to do with me?" I flashed a smile of my own, knowing full well I had stolen the line from _Pretty Woman_, before taking another sip. He set his beer on the table, his grin receding as he stepped closer. He reached out for my drink, taking it from me, and setting it on the table next to his beer. His eyes never left mine, and I was physically incapable of looking away.

"It's not _what _am I going to do with you, it's what I'm _not_ going to do with you."

I'd read about breath hitching before, but I never quite knew what it felt like. Until now.

His hand cupped my face, his thumb running softly over my cheek. A momentary look of concern broke through, and I could only imagine it was the ugly dark circles that were under my eyes.

"Think you're ready to play _my_ game, Isabella Swan?" His hand left my face and slowly traveled across my shoulder and down my arm to take my hand. I took a deep breath as I suddenly realized I hadn't taken one in the last, oh, 3 minutes or so.

Knowing what Edward wanted, expected, and actually doing it were two separate things. I hadn't been a sub in forever. I wasn't sure if I could go back there, to that place, to who I had been. I didn't take orders anymore, I gave them, and the punishment for disobeying that went with them. Power was my aphrodisiac, wielding my toys and watching their complete submission to me, a release.

Edward was challenging me, and I couldn't deny I was more than a little turned on. I loved a challenge.

I stepped closer to him, my free hand on his chest and over his heart. "Bring it."

With his hand in mine, he pulled me to his body. I could already feel his semi-hard cock pressing through his pants against my stomach. "As you wish."

He led me back down the hall to a bedroom. It didn't look to be the master, and I'd seen two other doors in the same hallway. He opened the door, stepping aside to let me walk in first.

"Go to the middle of the room in front of the bed. Stand still, and not another word unless I instruct you to respond. You can address me as your King, and for now, I will address you as Bella. I'm sure I don't have to remind you of the rules."

"Yes, but do you-"

"Oh, no you didn't." He closed the door behind him as I immediately recognized he was going to be a strict fuck. All I wanted to ask him is if there were any special rules of his that I should know, but I guess I was going to find out the hard way. When I reached the very large canopied bed, I turned and he was already there in front of me.

"Since we're just beginning, and I need to…test your limits, I'll let that go. But not again. Do you understand, Bella?"

I merely nodded.

"Good girl."

He walked over to a chest of drawers on an angle in the corner, which gave me the opportunity to look around. The walls were a deep burgundy, with heavy curtains over the window. He had turned on a dim light, a chandelier almost, which was right above my head. Even though the sun was still out, the room was relatively dark and intimate. Hardwood floors covered the room, what looked to be a Persian rug on the side of the bed. I couldn't help but feel the tingle in my gut, the burn between my thighs, the pending excitement.

Edward had taken something from the drawer, something black, and walked back to me. "Safewords. Green, Yellow, Red. Remember them."

I nodded again.

As he brought it up to my face, I realized the black thing in his hand was a scarf. "What were those words you said to me that first time?" He asked, tying the scarf around my eyes as I took a deep breath. I couldn't believe how fucking turned on I was. "Ah yes." No longer able to see, I felt the rush of his breath on the side of my face, and then near my ear. "Anticipation is as much the torture as the actual pain coursing through your veins, I believe."

I felt his smile, as he ran his lips from my ear to my throat, and suddenly fingers at the front of my blouse. "You'll find, Bella, that I don't always follow the rules either. I like to unwrap the package myself, I'm rather tactile in that sense." I could tell the fucker was already enjoying this, the material of my blouse being pushed down my arms, until his hands circled my hips and then around me, and more fingers on the zipper of my skirt until it was around my knees. The helicopter blades were at full speed, the ache deepening to the point I wasn't sure if I would make it.

He took my hand. "Step." I lifted my leg as I felt my hand guided to his shoulder, and what I could only presume was him kneeling. "Again." I raised my other leg, and then felt his hands, around my ankles, slowly going up and over my calves to my thighs, until his hands pushed at their insides to spread them. I moved my feet, until his hands grasped my thighs to make me stop, and then disappeared. The rustle of fabric and the noise of his shoes told me he had stood up and walked away. Fuck I wanted his hands to stay, to linger, to move over me between my legs, to rip off the expensive but now wholly unnecessary black lace panties I was wearing. He could buy me more.

I heard more movement, what I thought was his jacket being put somewhere, the clink of a belt, the dropping of pants. Hot damn. My fingers clenched and unclenched at my sides. He hadn't said if I was allowed to touch him or not. Usually it was a no-no, but at the moment I didn't give a rat's ass. If he came back, I was pretty sure my hands would be uncontrollable.

A drawer opening again, and then…music. Not like before. I had to grin. It was Ravel's Bolero, the classic anticipation music. Playful yet seductive, it was a dance, slowly building, spiraling, until the final climax. Just thinking the word made my legs quiver.

The silence of his bare feet made it difficult to know where he was, until a finger slowly ran down the valley between my tits and made me gasp, a slow trail down my stomach until it slid around my waist, tickling my sides and making me flinch.

"Ticklish, I see. Well, there's something the files didn't tell me."

He ran it around to the small of my back, until I felt him undoing my bra, the straps slowly sliding down my arms. He pulled and my arms went out and a swish and a sound of it hitting the floor somewhere off in the room. His hands came around my waist, sliding up to cup both in his hands, his fingers kneading, his thumbs playing over my nipples in time to the music. I couldn't help but lean back into him, until he pulled me forward with my tits in his hands.

"No Bella. Stand straight." I tried not to moan, to make a sound, but the pull of his hands, the teasing of his fingers, was sending a direct signal to my abdomen and below. Until his hands slid down once more, his fingers digging inside my panties to cup my ass, and then take them down to my ankles.

"Kick." I knew this maneuver well enough, and sent the black lace flying somewhere in the room. His finger trailed a path back to the front of me, tickling me again as I flinched, and I could hear him try not laugh. His thumb rubbed just above my pubic bone as another finger teased around and inside my belly button.

Pure, unmitigated torture. Is this what I did to them as I realized he was mimicking my moves, my initial dance? I let out an exhale, nearing pressing myself up to his teasing fingers.

"Not yet." He said, removing his hand. "But you're better than I thought you'd be, Bella."

Suddenly I was being pushed backward, his hand at my hip guiding me. "Raise your arms."

Oh God.

I complied, feeling a soft rope of some sort going around each, until a pull raised them even further, not uncomfortable, but just enough to make me start to breathe faster.

"Bella you are so fucking beautiful like that." Movement again told me he had walked, a drawer opening, closing, and more movement, until a sudden touch of strips of something, leather, on my thigh, and then the other. A flogger. Holy fuck.

I started to tense, knowing what was going to happen, and not sure if I was ready. I knew Edward wouldn't hurt me, he was a pro, but it didn't mean that there wouldn't be some pain. Could I really do this? Yes. No fear, Bella. No fear. I needed to relax, let Edward take me on this journey, be what he needed me to be.

I no sooner had braced myself, when the straps slid from my back and a sharp crack came across it. My hands tightened into fists, remembering techniques from long ago to not make a sound. The burn wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be considering my back still had the evidence of Jasper and the cane. It surprised me that Edward would go there, but before I could get pissed, another stronger snap hit my asscheeks, this one stinging slightly, make me jut forward, my feet sliding forward to catch myself. As I regained my balance, I felt the handle brush across the tops of my tits to the other side, until another snap to my ass with even more strength.

The sting of this last one simultaneously sent a jolt to my core and to my head, my mind spinning in denial, my body telling me otherwise. No, I couldn't do this anymore, I was not the submissive, I didn't want to give in, but I could no longer deny what Edward was making me feel. I pulled at the restraints, considering safewording, but that would be losing, admitting defeat, and I had told Edward to bring it, whatever it was, and he was only on a flogger.

"Bella, I'm checking in. Safewords?" I heard his voice from across the room, and I shook my head, fighting the desire to cave, succumbing to the desire to win. The drawer once again opening, more toys being gathered. His light footsteps were once again in front me, as I felt his finger brush my lips, and I couldn't help but part them. Kiss me, dammit, I screamed in my head. Fuck I just wanted to feel him. As if knowing, I felt his arm come around me, gathering me closer, his mouth on mine, tongues searching, finding, possessing, until I felt a sharp sting on my left tit and I gasped pulling away.

"Unnnh." I tried not to scream, biting my lip, remembering nipple clamps, the initial bite and then the slow dull pain. He pulled me to him again, his mouth on mine, this time putting on the clamp and holding me to him as I groaned into his mouth with the first sting.

"Breathe, Bella." He whispered, as my head dropped to rest somewhere on his body until he pulled away. The muscles in my arms were beginning to protest, the sockets and my shoulders becoming painful because of my pulling. I tried to do what he asked, I tried to breathe, to find the pleasure, and as if he knew, his fingers were suddenly between my legs, slowly going over my center to my clit, softly circling. My hips jutted forward in response, the tension building inside me like never before. I was going to break, and his fingers would be the death of me.

Then they suddenly stopped, long enough for his hands to spread my thighs again, and something…oooh. Edward's tongue, sliding, gliding, his fingers holding me open, his tongue inside me, thrusting, licking up to my clit. I couldn't help but pull on the ropes, my thighs starting to shake.

_I couldn't come until he said so. I couldn't come until he said so. _I repeated in my head.

Until one hand reached around behind me, finding the crack of my ass, fingers searching as his tongue continued its assault.

"Come, Bella. Come for me." I felt fingers go inside me, fingers tease my ass, and his teeth bite softly on my clit.

"K-king!" I screamed the only word I could remember, my body bursting, and Edward's hand behind me now pressing me to his mouth holding me up, his tongue continuing to circle, my body jolting in response. The pain of my nipples gone, the pain on my back and ass obliterated, and the pure bliss washing over me.

It was like nothing I'd ever known, even with Edward.

Suddenly I was in his arms, nipple clamps gone. He released one arm and then the next slowly bringing them to his shoulders to ease into the shock and pain of having been stretched. But I wouldn't have felt it even if I could. He laid me down on cool sheets, my head on a soft pillow. My arms and legs were spread wide, as I heard his footsteps walking…somewhere. I couldn't move, I couldn't see, and I didn't care. All I wanted was Edward, his touch, his skin. I wanted more, I wanted him inside me.

Suddenly his hands were on my arm, turning me over, his fingers and something cool brushed over my back and my ass, making me inhale sharply. The blindfold was removed as he turned me onto my back, kissing a trail over my shoulder, down, sucking on a nipple and then the other, until he was hovering over me, his face just above mine.

"I'm going to bury myself inside you, Bella. You were…magnificent." Before I could even process what he'd just said, he moved to the side of me turning me, grabbing my thigh, and moving my leg back on top of his. Oh fuck he was going to come at me from behind and I didn't have the strength, I didn't have the…until I felt the tip of him sliding in, then thrusting slowly, building, his lips on my neck, his breath against my face, and I reached back finding new strength to tangle my fingers in his hair.

He had me building again, his hand at my hip, pulling me to him, deeper, harder, slowly, then faster, then slowly again.

"Talk to me, baby. I need to hear you." He groaned in my ear. I wasn't sure if I was capable of speech.

"I…can't." I managed.

"Music to my ears, My Queen." He groaned even louder, his huge cock filling me, thrusting faster, the smacking of our skin, the sweat on us both, the smell of sex, and Edward.

His fingers suddenly left my hip, holding me yet searching down between me. "I'm gonna come, baby. Come with me. Again." Like a homing beacon his finger touched the spot as he thrust into me and yelled.

"M-mine!" His teeth bit down on my shoulder.

I nodded, and said through short breaths. "Y-yes… yours." With one last push deep into me, I felt his body quake behind me, his moan against my skin where his teeth still were, and his fingers press down on me, pulling me to him and over the edge with him.

"Ed…" I managed to get out, my insides clenching around him, wave after wave, and him jutting into me until he stopped, his fingers leaving my clit and traveling up to my stomach, where he held me to him.

I had nothing left. We stayed like that, still, the only sound the music, and our breaths fast and furious, until they slowed. There wasn't a word for what I was feeling. Reeling maybe? Gelatinous? Electrified? All of it wrapped in amazement, contentment and… something else. Edward's hand slowly brushed my stomach, my ribs, like he was strumming a guitar. His slightest touch still sending zings through my body. I felt warm and yet on fire, all because of this man behind me, who at that same moment, knew enough to pull out and move, letting me lay on my back.

"Open your eyes." He commanded near my face, and it took everything I had to do it. His face was just above me, and his eyes searched mine as his lips softly touched, caressed my own. Seeing his face, seeing his expression, his soft smile, another sensation went through my chest.

"That was…"

"Sensational." He finished.

"Edward, I-"

"I know." He said, leaving my lips to gaze at me once more. His hand came up to push away my hair, his eyes staring into mine. "I know."

What did he know? He reached down to gather covers throwing them over me, cacooning us as he spooned in behind me once more. "Sleep. Talk later." He whispered into my ear, gentling nibbling at the outside before he settled in behind me. I nodded once again, settling into him, his arm over my waist and mine on top of his, and I was out.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

The urge to pee woke me, face down on the pillow, Edward's arm across my back. I slowly pushed up my head and turned to look at him. His soft snore told me he was still out.

I slid out from underneath his arm, not wanting to wake him. Thank God the light was still on, although the music had stopped. I tiptoed across the floor, looking back to check if he was still asleep. He didn't move.

I reached the door, when I noticed his suit jacket laying across a chair just to the side, a piece of paper sticking out of the pocket. I wasn't the type to snoop or pry, but something about it struck me as unusual. With one last glance back at him, I grabbed for the paper, opened it. It was just like in the movies, letters from magazines or newspapers glued to the paper.

_Sleep with one eye open  
Gripping your pillow tight_

_Exit light  
Enter night  
Take my hand  
We're off to never never-land_

_Something's wrong, shut the light  
Heavy thoughts tonight  
And they aren't of Snow White  
Dreams of war  
Dreams of liars  
Dreams of dragons fire  
And of things that will bite, yeah_

_Sleep with one eye open  
Gripping your pillow tight_

_Exit light  
Enter night  
take my hand  
We're off to never never-land  
_

And at the very bottom, in big red letters…

_You will be mine, Bella._

I gasped, I couldn't help it. So this is what had come, what Edward had intercepted and kept from me. I folded the paper and carefully put it back in his pocket. Taking one last glance at him, I opened the door in search of the bathroom, and got lucky when it was the first door on the right. Walking in, I turned on the light, closing the door, not wanting to look at myself in the mirror. I sat on the toilet, holding my face in my hands. What the fuck was I going to do? What if they never found him? What if he was out there, right now, waiting? I finished my business, flushed, and stood up to lean on the counter, looking at myself finally. Karma was definitely not on my side on this one.

_You will be mine, Bella._

I bent over the counter more, suddenly feeling lightheaded. He wasn't going to stop. He wasn't going to stop until I was dead, or he was caught or dead too.

Why_, Jasper? Just because I had screwed Edward? Hell, at the time I didn't even know it was Edward, and neither did you._

I slid down, my ass hitting the tile floor hard, my hands making a smacking noise as I tried to brace myself. I'd never passed out before, but my head was spinning and something told me I was close.

"Edward." I whispered, leaning down on my arm. I'd never needed anyone, least of all a man, but now, here, nearly prone on Edward's bathroom floor, I couldn't help it. I didn't have the strength to get angry, my breaths were coming short.

Holy fuck, I was having a panic attack.

"Edward." I managed a little louder, falling back on the floor, the room spinning faster.

The door suddenly swung open. "Holy shit!" Edward was on the floor next to me, his hand on my face, his other at my wrist. I tried to find him, but he was morphing into two, maybe three, Edwards. Suddenly his arms were under me, lifting me up, carrying me out of the bathroom and back to the bed. He disappeared, and then came back again, a glass of something in his hand. Sitting next to me, he helped me sit up, my head lolling back onto his arm.

"Drink this. Slowly." With semi-closed eyes, I managed to open my mouth and not choke. It was apple juice.

"I think your blood pressure just dropped, or something else." He raised the glass back to my lips and I drank more. I was starting to feel better already.

"I think I may have taken you too far tonight, My Queen." He leaned down and kissed my forehead.

I tried to shake my head. "No." I paused. "I saw the note."

* * *

A/N:

*grins* If only...

I'd love to know what you thought.

Thanks for reading.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N:

Yesssssss! Another chapter! I thought I'd have this out quicker, but some weekend issues and a Bears' loss interrupted good intentions. Alas, the road to hell…

Huggles and smoochies to my Pufferfish beta, HammerHips – yeah, she's finally letting me call her the "b" word – for catching my überfail tense issue, and the poking and prodding to get this thing done. Me likey her pokes.

I'd like to send a special thanks to LadyTazz for rec'ing me over at the Jasper'sNaughtyGirls blog, to the gals over at TheEvilTwins blog and Shirley007 for their awesome review of all of my fics, and to the gals over at the WordyBitches blog for asking me to join their special brand of fuckery. From what I've seen so far, I think we're all gonna gel quite nicely. *grins*

Oh, and a special shoutout to a special someone who inspired a moment in this chapter. He knows who he is.

And that's enough from me…enjoy. *smirks*

* * *

**Chapter 6**

The stretching of my arms under my pillow woke me, a searing pain from the armpits down through my biceps. I rolled over and it was even more painful, as all my muscles flexed and subsequently screamed in protest.

"F-fuck." I opened my eyes when I realized I wasn't in my own bed, and that Edward should've been next to me. I tried to see around the dim room, but there was no clock, hardly any light, and no Edward. For some reason my head was spinning and I remembered the bathroom, the bathroom floor, and how lovely I must have looked sprawled out buck naked when Edward walked in and found me. I laid my head back down on the pillow, closing my eyes again, feeling strange.

_I wonder if I'm getting sick?_ I never get sick. _Bad sushi?_

Or…

Maybe Edward had taken me to _fuckfinity and beyond_.

I couldn't help but grin a little at that thought.

"Bella?" I poked my head up at the sound of Edward's voice and instantly felt a stabbing pain in my right temple.

"Yeah." I breathed out, bringing my fingers up to rub away the pain.

In walked Edward wearing just navy pajama bottoms, with something that looked like a tray loaded with breakfast in bed. I tried not to focus on his chest, nor my fingertips that were itching to touch it. "What the fuck is _that_? You _cooked_?" I asked as endearingly as I could.

"Good morning to you, too. And yes, I _can _cook, Bella. Breakfast is the easiest. I cooked on the boat, remember?" He set the tray down on the bedside table, and sat next to me.

"Feeling any better?" He put the back of his hand to my forehead, as if he was my father taking my temperature.

"Yeah, no. What the hell did you do to me last night?" I moaned, my eyes closing again. He didn't respond, but his fingers were around my wrist, so I sat still. Moving wasn't a really good option anyway.

"Can you eat something?" He finally asked with something that sounded like concern.

"I don't know. I don't really want to, but what did you bring me, Emeril?"

"I think you should just start with the toast."

"Coffee?"

"Yes, there's coffee."

I opened my eyes and slid up into a sitting position bringing the covers with me, Edward's hand suddenly running over the sheet on my thigh. "Then, gimme." I managed to croak out as the room spun, my body protested, my head throbbed, and I tried to hide it all from Edward. He reached over for the tray, putting it on my legs – scrambled eggs, sausage links, Greek toast with butter. But, it was the smell of the eggs and sausage that sent my stomach into spins.

"Ugh, please. Get it away. Get it away." I waved my hand and Edward immediately grabbed the tray, taking it across the room, returning to my side with just a piece of toast, looking just this side of afraid.

"I'm sorry, it's just…just give me the toast for now. And the coffee. Please." I'd caught the stomach flu a couple of years ago, and hoped this wasn't it. I didn't leave the bathroom for days then, and I had absolutely NO intention of being stuck with Edward, at his place, with the goddamn stomach flu.

His hand reached out with the toast as if to feed me, so I opened my mouth and took the smallest bite, chewed, swallowed, and waited.

"Ok?"

"I think so." He brought the toast back up to my mouth. I took a bite obediently, not because I wanted to submit, but because I didn't have the strength to fight him.

"You don't have to feed me, Edward." It was more of a moan than a statement.

"It's the least I can do. You're in my house, in my exclusive bed, and last night…well, last night was incredible." With that, the corners of his lips turned into an all-knowing shitgrin, and despite my considerable lack of energy still made my inner thighs tingle.

"You should have water though, instead of coffee." He handed me the toast and went out the door. As I made work of the toast, my head started to swim again, a feeling building in the back of my throat…

_Shit!_

I threw my legs over the edge of bed, every muscle in my body firing in pain, and as I went to stand, my legs gave out and I landed hard on my hands on knees.

Anything and everything in my stomach spewed from me like a geyser, the sound of Edward's feet running over floor only adding to the humiliation of my retching.

"It's ok, Bella." He whispered, as his hands lifted my hair. One held it back, and the other softly caressed my back.

"I-I'm sorry." I managed to get out, my body still convulsing. Until my arms start to buckle, and just as quickly Edward's arm went around me to keep me from hitting the floor. Gathering me up in his arms, he made quick work to the bathroom, and had me in front of the toilet before I could even tell him to put me down.

"S-sorry about the rug." I mumbled, my head over the toilet, Edward's one hand once again holding my hair, the other just under my tits making sure I didn't take a header into the bowl.

"Rugs can be replaced, Bella. Just relax." His voice was soft, comforting, unlike it had been for days, and once again my head whirled, but _not_ because of my stomach. Here I was, completely helpless again, in the arms of Edward Cullen.

But this feeling, the feeling making my head spin, was at odds with everything I'd ever known, everything I'd ever believed about myself.

I was thankful.

Thankful he was holding me and my hair. Thankful, that at this moment of barfing my guts onto his rug and feeling like shit, he was here.

I almost threw up again.

We sat for what seemed like hours, my ass in his lap, but it was more like minutes, until Edward picked me up and brought me in the shower. Resting me on a small bench, he leaned me back onto his thighs, washing my hair, and then my body. Even though I just wanted to drop, I couldn't help but enjoy Edward's fingers, and as shitty as I felt, I smiled thinking just how talented they actually were. He handed me a toothbrush with toothpaste, and I thanked him again in my head, as a cup nudged my hand to catch some water and rinse.

Bringing me out of the shower, he wrapped a towel around my head, another around me, and brought me down the hall to another room. One filled with light, ice blues, and browns, dark woods, but I couldn't see much of anything else as he laid me down on huge king size bed. I rolled on my side, my towel still around me, and my hair wet under the other one, watching Edward move about the room, throwing on boxer briefs, jeans, and a black t-shirt, one that looked similar to the one he'd been wearing at the club, after…

Suddenly, his hand was brushing my arm, "Bella?" a hairdryer in his hand. "Let me dry your hair, then you can sleep." I must've closed my eyes, or fallen asleep or something. He plugged the hairdryer into an outlet next to the bed, lifting me forward and he sat behind me and rested me against him again, but I was able to sit forward a little on my own, as the heat from the hairdryer, and his fingers ran through my hair to smooth it. When he finished, he slid partly off the bed, his arms helping me lay back down.

"Bella, you need to try and keep down some water. Do you think you can stay awake until I get back?" His joking smile didn't reach his eyes, and I could tell he was worried.

"Yeah, I'm feeling better already." I totally lied.

"I'll be right back." And he was, sprinting back in with a full 8 oz glass of water, and sitting down next to me once again, holding it to my lips.

"Edward, I can…" reaching for the glass.

"The last thing I want to do is sleep in a wet bed with you, Bella." He said, jerking the glass from me, as I quirked an eyebrow at him. "One wet from an entire glass of water spilling on it."

"Alright, alright." I said before drinking his damn water.

"Now, I've put a garbage can here, just in case. I need to go check on a few things, and then I'll come back. Try to rest, ok?" His hand wafted over my forehead again, as I laid back and he put the glass on the nightstand. "You feel a little warm to me, but not by much. I'll bring a thermometer next time."

"Why are you doing this, Edward?"

"_Why_?" As he stood, he shook his head slightly, not even turning back to look at me. "Seriously, Bella," and he kept walking through the door closing it behind him.

If I wasn't feeling like shit, or weaker than all get out, I would've thrown the nearest object at the door. As it was, I closed my eyes, curling up into a ball, letting sleep take me away.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"_Do you know what I do to my horses when they don't obey, Bella?"_

Air, I needed air…

"_Well, naturally, they have to be taught a lesson." _

My head shot up off the pillow, my eyes opening, my lungs sucking, realizing I had been having another nightmare about Assper. As the realization set in, so did a throb in my head and I plopped it back onto the pillow.

"I can't watch her 24/7 in the office. I can hardly be near her so as to not give any more fodder to the gossip hounds. She's in a precarious enough position as it is."

_Who's Edward talking to? _ My eyes opened again.

"Bella can handle herself, Ed. She was doing it long before you came to town."

"That was before a suspected murderer was after her."

_Wait. What? Did he just say…and who was that with Edward. It was…_

I rolled over to see what time it was – 2:00 p.m. Shit, I'd slept nearly half the day away.

"I'm going to put you in that cube right outside her office. We're going to tell everyone you're a temp, working for her. No one knows who you are, and she'll go along with it. She doesn't have a choice."

Cube? Temp? Go along with _what_? Who the hell was Edward talking to? I slid my legs out from under the covers, remembering that I had nothing on, the corner of my mouth turning up as I noticed Edward had left a deep burgundy silk robe with matching underwear on a chair. I presumed it was for me, and stood up slowly to walk over to it. The legs were a little shaky at first, but I held the bedside table for support for just the first few steps, and then I felt…relatively normal. At least I didn't feel like puking my guts out. A bottle of Evian was now on the table, and before I could even think the phrase _how could he have known, _I took the bottle, twisted off the cap, drinking just a little, and thought, _I wonder what there is he __**doesn't**__ know about me._ I wasn't sure if I liked that thought or not.

_That_ would, however, be an argument, rather a _discussion_, for another time.

After carefully putting on the clothes that Edward set out, I tottered over to the door, slowly opening it, peeking out. Edward immediately spotted me from his perch on one of the bar stools.

"Bella…" He shot up off the stool, but I walked out, holding up my palm, letting him know I was fully capable. It was at this point I got a good view of Emmett, who bounded off the chair and was now in front of me, reaching for my arm. Right. Emmett, Edward, brothers. Brain was processing slowly, but processing nonetheless.

"Old habits, Em?" I laughed.

"No, I'm just quicker on my feet, than Eddie."

Shaking his head, Edward downed the rest of something caramel colored in a glass, as Emmett led me around the couch.

"You can stow the cape for a while, Flash. I see you met my first bodyguard." I smiled to Edward as Emmett led me to the chair he had been in and I sat down curling my feet under me.

"It does look good on her, bro." Emmett said, smiling at me as he sprawled across Edward's leather sofa.

"Shoes, brother dearest." Edward's indication of his disdain for Emmett's shoes on his pristine calfskin made me snort. Emmett complied haughtily by kicking them off in the direction of Edward, but only getting as far as the middle of the room.

"You two are brothers?" I shook my head at the obvious differences.

"Amazing it was the same womb, isn't it?" Edward replied, going around the bar to fix another something for himself. "One more, Em?"

"Yeah, just one, then I gotta hit the road. Gotta get ready for my big day Monday."

You could feel the anticipation in the air as Emmett looked at Edward, and then both of them turned to me.

"What, got a hot date or something? Should I go back into the other room so Edward can give you pointers?" I challenged.

"Pointers?" Emmett's booming laugh rang out as he smacked the top of his thigh. "Hardly."

"Bella, Emmett is going to be undercover at the office…to keep an eye on you when I can't."

"_Whhaaat?"_ My legs jettisoned out from under me, my robe parting just enough to give Emmett a nice eyeful, not like he hadn't seen it before. Except the movement was too fast, too much, and I fell back into the chair before I had enough time to fight.

"Bella." Edward started to come to me, as Emmett's feet swung off the couch to leap small buildings.

I held up my hand again, resting my head back, closing my eyes, willing the dizziness away. "I'm alright. Just give me a sec." The sigh I let out told them both what my mood was slowing turning into. "Edward, I don't need another bodyguard, I already have you for fuck's sake."

I heard ice clink, a pregnant pause, and the inhale of frustration that only Edward could omit. I didn't even have to open my eyes.

"Tough." He finally sputtered through million-dollar teeth that were crunching on ice, a rather tell-tale vision if I thought about it. I wasn't going to win this battle. I already knew it, and it pissed me off even more thinking he was taking advantage of my weakness - of being sick - to get me to bend to his will. Which, of course, had the opposite effect, and only made me want to fight more.

"Bro, when you two just going to come out?" Emmett and timing, it was a thing to behold.

Aaaand the final straw. "Come _out_? Come outta where, Emmett?" I sat up straight, clutching the armrests on either side of me for support. "What do think this is, a cotillion?" I stood on my feet, every bone in my body screaming for a quick exit, every muscle crying out _sit your ass back down, girl_. "A closet?"

Big mistake. _Huge_.

Emmett on the couch became three Emmetts on three couches, my foot going forward to stop the swaying of the floor underneath me, a glass shattering off in the distance, my body pitching forward.

Hands around my waist.

Fade to black.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Bella?" Fingers lightly touching my cheek, and then smoothing over my forehead through my hair.

_Where the fuck?_ I opened my eyes to see Edward's face above mine.

"Hey," he whispered. "Welcome back." Blinking a few times to gain focus, my eyes then darted around, and I recognized Edward's bedroom.

"What? Did I…pass out?" Again with the firsts these past few weeks.

"Yes, you did. I was able to get to you before hit the floor. Lucky for you too, since you most likely would've missed anything soft and landed on the hardwood." He turned from me reaching for something. "Here. Drink."

I would remember the ordering for that later discussion, but did as he asked as he held a glass of water to my lips.

"Slowly." His bedside manner needed some work, but I did, sipping as I could. "If you're not better by tomorrow, I'm taking you to the doctor."

Oh, _hell _no.

"Listen, Flash, while I appreciate this whole physician thing you got going on here, I'll be fine. No doctors." I said between sips.

"Why must you be such a stubborn bitch?" This time his grin reached his eyes. Those emerald beacons that went straight to the back of my head, down through my body like a laser.

"Probably because your overprotective, domineering ass brings it out in me." I smiled back at him as sweetly as ever.

"_Dom_ineering?" With that his grin faded, the green of his eyes growing darker, as if his thoughts went elsewhere. I knew _exactly_ where they went, and my legs shifted in response.

"You haven't seen domineering, Love." With that he stood up, putting the glass on the table.

_What did he just say?_

He had said the…he had called me…Love. Anxiety was a mere cake walk compared to the sheer panic that was rushing around inside me.

_Don't be stupid, Bella. It's just a nickname, a term of endearment, a…_

_A term of endearment._ Ok, so my heart _might've_ fluttered. I wasn't sure. I never felt my heart flutter before.

"Do me a favor and stay out of trouble in here for awhile. I'm going to go order you some chicken soup for the broth."

Hmmm, would he feed me again? And why was even remotely excited about that?

"Where's Emmett?" With that, the bedroom door opened a crack, Emmett's smiling face peeking through. "Right here, Your Majesty." His playful smile did nothing to keep me from seeing Edward's head whip back, the smile fading slightly. "I mean, Bella."

I wanted to chuckle, laugh really, because it was obvious to me that something had transpired between the two of them about what Emmett called me at the club. So Edward didn't want Emmett calling me Your Majesty anymore. Interesting…

"Are you leaving?" I rolled my head to the side to see him better.

"Yeah. I'll come by tomorrow again to check on ya, and make sure Eddie hasn't killed you with his bare hands." But as Emmett said the word killed, Edward visibly stiffened, his eyes going from Emmett's to mine.

"I'll do my best to not provoke the monster." I held up three fingers just like in Girl Scouts. "Scouts honor." It was a poor attempt to lighten the atmosphere, but Emmett merely nodded, backing out the door.

"I'll be back." Edward said to me and then followed Emmett out the door, closing it behind him. Nancy Drew had nothing on my ass at that moment. It was obvious both Edward and Emmett knew more about something than either one was letting on to me.

"_That was before a suspected murderer was after her."_

Edward's voice in my head repeated the words I hadn't put much stock in earlier, and I started to put two-and-two together myself. Was Assper a killer? Had he already…How had he even been hired by our company? No, Edward had said suspected. That would explain some things, but not all. Like how did Edward know that, if he wasn't convicted? Had he been on trial for something? Where? When?

_How does Edward know anything? He got all the dirt on you, didn't he?_

Fuck me, my head started to hurt, and I rolled tucking my knees up again in a ball. What the hell had I gotten mixed up in? Jasper and I…we had been fucking for a year and half. I knew he was…just this side of crazy and it's what made messing with him, _fucking _him, such a rush. That and that sexy-ass southern drawl he worked so well. But in all my manipulation, all of my wildest rides, had it been something else? Had he been manipulating…_me_?

Had I been fucking the devil himself, the devil rode up from Texas, all this time?

I curled my knees up further, not even remotely wanting to think about that, closing my eyes, waiting for Edward to return, when all of a sudden three little words went through my head, forcing my eyes to open.

_I need you._

In my head…was where they were going to stay.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Something made me open my eyes. It was Edward's voice on the phone.

"He has to be somewhere close. He didn't have a chance to skip the country, we had that covered. He's hiding, with someone."

A slight pause.

"Keep me informed." More silence and I knew the conversation was over.

Rolling over on my side, I glanced at the clock. 7:00 p.m. Shit, I'd never sleep tonight. At least my head wasn't spinning anymore, I confirmed as I tore the covers back, and sat up slowly just to test the waters. Ok, yeah, I was definitely feeling better. Planting my feet firmly on the floor, I grabbed the robe off the chair where Edward must have put it because I sure as hell didn't, and tread lightly over to the door. Cracking it just a bit, I didn't see Edward, so I made my way out into the hall.

"Bella, s'that you?"

"No, it's the Gargantupuke, come to ruin more of your house." I smiled, stopping in the threshold of his kitchen door.

"Feeling better, I take it." He was doing something at the counter, so I walked up next to him, leaning on it with my elbow. It looked like soup, and he was straining all of the good stuff for just the liquid into a bowl.

'I take it that's for me?"

"If you think you're ready for it. Here." He moved it over to the bar, and I plopped my ass on one of the side stools.

I swiped the spoon from his hand just as he got close. "I can do it." He smiled at me and turned back to the counter to clean up.

The first sip was admittedly a slow one, and I waited a good five minutes before attempting another. Edward tried his best not to hover, and I knew this simply because he hand-washed whatever he had been using, rather than putting it in the dishwasher, then walked behind me to the bar, presumably to get a drink. I didn't turn, I just took sip after sip of the broth, and as it seemed to stay down, I knew the worst was over.

As I finished the last drop, I felt his arms come around my waist and a kiss in my hair. "Well?"

I hesitated a moment, feeling like if I moved, I'd kick-off another dizzy spell, so I rested my arms on the top of the counter and waited.

Nothing.

Progress.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Edward sat at a desk in the corner of the condo nearest the bank of windows that included his view of lake. The soup I'd eaten earlier had stayed down, so now I was firmly ensconced on the couch, an unnecessarily blanket that Edward had put there around my legs, with him typing away on his laptop. I pretended to watch TV, flipping the stations for anything remotely interesting. I hardly ever watched TV, but noticed that Edward had a shit-ton of movie stations, and as luck would have it, Pretty Woman was on.

_How fucking fortuitous._

I conveniently didn't mention it was a favorite of mine.

Knowing the movie nearly line-by-line by heart, I watched Edward instead out of the corner of my eye: the stern line of his brow, the way his tongue would play over his lip when he was concentrating, or his fingers would run through his hair occasionally when he was frustrated with something. I so wanted to play some poker with him, only because he was classic study in tells, and I'd whip his ass.

Until he looked up at me and busted me for staring. "What?" He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms, a slow grin working its way up from the corners of his mouth.

"Nothing."

He cocked his head, studying me for a moment, until all of sudden his laptop closed, papers were stashed in files, and he was striding over to me, glancing at the TV as he passed it.

I started to sit up. "No, here," he said as he moved behind me and then brought me back to lay against him in his lap. "And what's this we're watching?"

"We're?" I parried.

"Yes, _we're_." He answered, running his fingers softly over my forehead and through my hair.

"Pretty Woman. Ever seen it?"

"No."

"You should. I find the similarities between you and Edward Louis vastly entertaining."

"Edward Louis?" I pointed to the screen and to Richard Gere.

"Hmmm. Julia Roberts. Ok, I could possibly see the entertainment value here."

"Whatever."

It wasn't long before I felt myself being lifted, and I opened my eyes as Edward maneuvered himself out from under me, his arms sliding under me to haul me up off the couch.

"Time for bed, Gargantupuke." He smiled, pulling me close and kissing the side of my head. I knew I was just this side of awake, but I couldn't help but bring my arms up around his neck as we walked back to his bedroom. Laying me down on the bed, I watched as he stripped down to nothing, noticing he was semi-aroused, I cocked an eyebrow.

"Yeah champ, while my mind is saying otherwise, my body is not going-"

"Roll on your side." He said as he walked up to the bed, undoing my bra and sliding the strap down one arm, and then the other as I rolled back on my back. As soon as it was gone, he slid his fingertips into the edge of my panties.

"Lift," all he needed to say, as I hoisted my ass in the air for him to bring them down my thighs and off my ankles, depositing both in a hamper in the corner of the room.

Something about Commander Edward struck a chord directly between my legs. I would've been lying if I said I didn't enjoy watching him strut around the room completely naked, not to mention being coddled all day.

_Was I going soft?_

As the phrase appeared in my head I momentarily glanced at Edward's dick, which hadn't. It made me think of the first time at Heaven, not knowing what was under the mask but appreciating everything that wasn't. I was still staring when he crawled in the other side, gathering the covers around us both.

"Keep admiring me like that and I won't think twice about taking you right now in your moment of weakness." I laughed out loud, knowing full well he was joking, and settled in next to him, laying my head on his chest. His fingers caressing my back the last thing I felt.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"What are you doing?" Edward asked from his little corner of the room.

What I was doing is what I had _been_ doing for the past two hours. Edward had once again let me sleep in, getting up well before me to shower and work before I even knew he was gone. I'd crept into the shower myself, finding another days supply of clothes, this time considerably more appropriate for guests and consisting of my own khaki shorts and white gathered-neck tee. Emmett must have gone on a reconnaissance mission to my place finally, getting some clothes for me. Breakfast had consisted of toast and tea, the tea being something I never drank. But both were still in me and I was once again comfortably in my corner of the couch, my laptop humming, and at an angle where I could once again slyly watch my captor.

"Shopping. Online." I answered not looking up at him.

"For what?"

"A dress, for the awards dinner. I just realized I can't wear what I bought for it."

Why not?" I couldn't help but glance up at him, and as I did I raised my hand and pointed at my back from over my shoulder. "Yeah, not showing the scars that soon."

"Shit." The papers in his hand dropped on the desk. "Bella, I didn't…" He was across the room, in seconds, sitting next to me on the couch, kissing the side of my head as his arm went around my shoulders. "Forgive me. I'm an ass."

"No, you were just asking me…well yeah, you were, but I forgive you." I leaned my head back on his arm. "I just need to find something in a week that has some form of back to it that doesn't make me look forty."

"Ok. You know, we could always go in costume. You and I. Could be an interesting coming out party for us."

"Hell no. I'd like to go in something a little bit more elegant than a corset-wearing beer slinging…"

"But I rather like you in corsets." He lips were on my neck, his tongue playfully licking.

"Are you suggesting I wear…my mask and one of my corsets from the club?" I kept the corners of my mouth still, even though I wanted to giggle.

"Mmmm. Could be quite educational for some of them, especially Russell in Accounting."

With that I lost it, unable to control my laughter, and Edward busting right along with me.

"I'll make some calls, Emmett can help with that."

"Edward, I don't even want to know how you might have possible connections in this city for evening dresses."

His grin set off a sparkle in his eye. It wasn't so much to throw it in my face, but almost a challenge. I leaned forward, putting my laptop on the coffee table, and then turned into him, running my hand playfully over his navy t-shirt.

"Eddie, I could give a flying fuck about your past. Really." I said, sliding my leg over his to straddle him, my hands on either shoulder. "I care about now." I kissed the side of his neck. "I care about tomorrow." I softly ran my lips up to bite and suck his earlobe. "I might even care about next week." I ran my tongue through the hollow between his cheekbone and jaw on the way to his lips. I sucked his bottom lip into my mouth, touching it with my tongue, and then letting it go, to look in his eyes. There was something strange in them. They were intent, and questioning, and…worried?

"I care…

"God, Bella, shut up." His hand was suddenly behind my neck, the other on my ass pulling me to him, as his mouth found mine. I so wanted to fuck him, I so wanted him to fuck _me_, my hand reaching down palm his cock, _my _cock. Until his hand came down over mine, and pulled it away.

"What?" Leaving his lips to speak was difficult. Him removing my hand was downright painful.

"You're still recovering, and what I want to do to you will require you to be in top form." He attempted to grin away what I was sure the snarl I was giving him.

"Fine. Then take me home. I need to…go back to my place for awhile."

"Absolutely not. Bella, do you understand that there is someone out there who wants…who wants to harm you?"

"Yes, Edward, I do. I just need…" I slid off his lap and started to walk over to the windows, "I need my place, my things, some…familiarity. Staying with you makes me feel…helpless. I don't like that feeling." As I said it, I felt his arms come around my waist.

"Tell you what, we'll go get some of your things for the next few days, so you can stay here with me." His hands pressed my hips to turn me to him. "You cannot stay there alone, not while he's out there. I won't allow it." He kissed my forehead to emphasize the point, but I bristled at the statement.

"Edward, you aren't my…" I almost said husband.

"No, but I'm your boss."

"Only in the boardroom, ego man." Damn if this whole commander thing he had going on wasn't growing on me. "Give me a raise, and I'll let you stay at my place with me?" I glanced up at him, giving him a genuinely seductive smile.

"That's a compromise I can live with." He said, pulling me to him.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

It had only taken Edward a few minutes to get his things and mine together and we were in his car driving to my place. But Edward's silence and the short drive gave me just enough time to think about what was going down, what was actually happening, and for my anxiousness to build.

Edward was going to stay _with_ me.

At _my_ place.

I never allowed men to stay longer than the night.

Edward had packed for at least three nights, the three suits in a garment bag just over my right shoulder hard and fast proof of that intent.

We parked and rode the elevator in even more silence. I wasn't sure if it was because Edward was rethinking his decision, or he thought I was rethinking mine. Frankly, I would've bet on both if anyone had asked.

I took my keys out of my purse and went to open the door, when Edward's hand came over mine. "It's going to be ok, you know. I made a promise to you, and I intend on keeping it, even if I have to sleep in your bathtub."

Ok, so I didn't see that coming.

I turned the key in the lock, looking up at him briefly and just nodded, not knowing what to say.

Until I opened the door.

Feathers. Big white feathers strewn down the hall as far as I could see.

"Bella, stay here." Edward went through the door and into the hall in stealth mode.

_The fuck if I'm staying here. This is _my_ home._

So, I walked in a few steps behind him, as he cautiously made his way toward the living room, pulling a gun out of the back of his shorts.

Edward pulled a gun out of his shorts.

Where did he? When did he?

I followed him as he went into the living room. More feathers. All over the floor, all over my furniture.

"What the fuck!" I finally said out loud, and turned to go into my bedroom. My sanctuary. Not waiting for Edward, I walked through the door.

"Bella, no!"

But my gasp that was almost a scream let him know it was too late. There was blood, lots of blood, splattered on the carpet leading to my bed. But in the middle of it, amidst more blood, was a headless bird.

A swan.

* * *

A/N:

Ooooooh! A cliffie! *ducks and hides*

As always, would love to know what you thought. Thanks for reading.


	7. Chapter 7

Is it? Could it be? SPANK my ass and call me CHIPPER!

Yes, one more for all of you, and if had a clue what birth was like, I'd say this one was pretteh damn close. ;)

Snugglies to my awesome betaPufferfish, HammerHips, who continues to amaze me with her time management capabilities, and the way she lubes this fic. Also, to Alexis Danaan and GemGem020507 who continually blow fairy dust up my ass about this thing. 3

Oh, and a special shout-out to my Twitchy Coconuts, even though he doesn't deserve it, for his inspiration for a key line in this fic. There. Ya happy? ;)

* * *

**Chapter 7**

**Edward's Tunes:**

In the car:

Sound of Madness – Shinedown

Mystery of You – Red

On the stereo:

Dance with the Devil – Breaking Benjamin

Save Me – Burn Season

What Lies Beneath – Breaking Benjamin

Waking Up the Devil – Hinder

It was 7 a.m., and Edward was making the Stevenson look like an obstacle course of cars and trucks suitably spaced to show off his Mercedes' suspension and handling, not to mention his precision driving ability. Once again, the music was at a decibel just shy of his speed, but it worked for me, because inside my head was the sound of madness, screaming like a banshee bitch. But even as he maneuvered through traffic, his arm rested over the center console holding my hand, both resting on my thigh. I didn't want to admit to him I felt better that he did. I didn't want to admit to _myself _that I felt better when there was some part of him touching me…_connected_ to me.

But I did.

That night had been something out of a horror film I usually refused to watch… mindboggling, groundbreaking, and yeah, if I admitted something else to myself…

Terrifying as all fuck.

I took a deep breath, stealing a sideways glance over at Edward. He didn't even have to look at me as his fingers tighten around my hand...

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

That shittastic night at my condo, Edward's arms had been around me in the doorway of my bedroom before I'd even comprehended what was happening, what had happened, or at least it felt that way. His hand pulled at my elbow, leading me from the room through the condo and out the door, as if in slow motion, but not. Or maybe a more like a dream. I let him lead me, my mind flashing images of the white feathers, the blood, and the headless thing on my bed. We'd made it all the way down to the car, Edward talking on his cell halfway, when it finally registered that he had called Emmett. Swift in opening my door, his hand softly ushered against my lower back to get into the car. But it was at the moment when I finally sat, and the silence draped around me for just enough time for the full force of what I had witnessed to smack me upside the head.

"That horsefucking, son of a mothercocksucking WHORE!"

Edward's door opened, his head ducking in, my head whipping not because I knew it wouldn't be him but because I was about to lay a path to Jasper Whitlock's dick with my tongue and then rid him of it Lorena Bobbitt style.

"_There_ you are." Edward's grin to me was quick, but I could see it fade as he stood back up, his phone still at his ear as he slid into the seat. "Emmett, meet us back at my place to get Bella's key…No, no cops. Get your people to handle this discretely….Yes…We'll be fine. We have to go in…It's not me he…Bro, don't fucking argue about this with me. See you in a few." Edward threw the phone in the center console, and sat back in his seat, his omnipresent hand wrenching once again through his hair.

"I want him dead, Edward. I want to shoot the motherfucker myself. I want to rip his dick-"

"Yes, Bella, we're in complete and total agreement on that." He sighed long and hard, staring straight ahead.

Throwing myself back in my seat, my palms running over the tops of my thighs, all I could think of is how I wanted the club to be open, how I needed Heaven, and everything that had been within its walls, to take me away from all this. To find the control that seemed to be slipping through my fingers faster than a handful of pristine white sand. I needed the rush, the thrill, and I needed it to be…

Yours.

Who just happened to be sitting next to me.

Almost as if he sensed where my thoughts were, Edward started the car, took one look out the rearview mirror and tore out of the parking space. Anticipation flew through every one of my nerve endings from my toes, up to my nipples, and then settled like a bonfire between my legs. I wanted Edward, oh fuck yeah, but I wanted him _my _way.

We reached his condo, and I didn't even wait for him to open my car door, flinging it open and jumping out like a woman on a mission. A mission to fuck. Edward had grabbed my hand as he came up beside me after leaving the car, and as we walked, nearly ran, to the elevator doors, my tongue ran over my bottom lip remembering his taste, wanting to run it over every last inch of him before I set him free from whatever restraints I could find in that damn dresser of his. I wanted him cuffed, on his knees, quivering with the same anticipation _my _knees were now shaking with. The elevator was empty as we rushed in, no one joining us, and as soon as the doors were closed, my hands were at his chest, forcing him against the wall.

The surprise on his face only lasted a second as my mouth found his, my hand cupping his dick, working it and feeling it harden as our tongues fought and lashed out. His fingers gripped my shoulders, forcing me even closer, and then down my back to my ass, squeezing it possessively and lifting, my legs responding by wrapping themselves around his waist, my hands working their way up to his neck, my fingernails digging into his hairline and skin.

Until the ding let us know both know the doors were opening.

Gently, he set me on my feet - his hands on my hips, guiding me to his door - his now rock-hard dick pressing into the top of my ass and my lower back. We were both fighting for control now; I could feel it in him, his hands not only on my hips for protection, but for possession. So to tease him, I stopped on a dime a foot in front of his door. Since he wasn't expecting it, he nearly ran me over, but I bent over just slightly, just at the right angle and he had to bend with me, the full forward force of him running into me, my hand reaching out to the door to prevent us both from falling.

"F-fuck, Bella, I'm going to-" It wasn't his normal voice, it was deeper, hungrier, the lower register of a torture victim.

"Oh, you most certainly are, Edward." I breathed back, looking over my shoulder. "But not before I say you can." A slow, lazy smile started to form on my lips as his fingertips dug into my hip, and I slid to the side to let him open the door.

But I didn't realize how much I had actually awakened the monster.

With the turn of the key and knob, Edward pushed the door open, grabbing my arm and pulling me in, his foot slamming the door behind him, his hands at my shoulders pressing me against the wall as his body slammed into me, his mouth once again demanding on mine.

Fucking _hell, _this was so damn hot.

My fingers clutched the bottom of his shirt tugging it from his shorts. His hands roamed under the base of mine, pulling it up with them. Burning, driving, moaning, parry for parry.

"Um, hello?"

We both jumped at exactly the same time, Edward stepping back from me. He was were already straightening my shirt and then tucking his own before I'd even picked my own jaw up off the floor. He took my face in his hands and whispered, "Looks like we both forgot about him," then smiled, brushing his fingers over my hair, and then lightly kissing my forehead before taking my arm and leading me forward.

Pussyblocked by Buff Bodyguard.

"Yo, bro… s'that you?"

"No, it's the cable guy." Edward huffed out as we reached the living room.

"I didn't hear a thing." Emmett didn't look up, but continued to thumb through a copy of Maxim that I _knew _wasn't Edward's.

_Bullshit._ I wanted to yell and tell him to drink, as Edward led me over to the bar.

"I believe you and I need something calming." Edward said knowingly to me as he tossed the remote to Emmett for the stereo, a grin playing at the corner of his lips. I couldn't return it, as my frustrations started to take over, along with anger at what I'd seen, what Assper had done… _Dance with the Devil_ and the clink of glassware and bottles brought me back momentarily, my blood reaching a boiling point.

"So lemme get this straight. He chopped off the head of a duck, and then left it—blood and all—over at Bella's."

My muscles tensed as Emmett tactlessly recounted the scene. I huffed from my perch on the stool, and walked halfway into the center of the room, my fingernail playing with the edge of my teeth. It wasn't just the blood and gore, it was the violation of my things, my space, my _home_. Somehow, he'd gotten in. God only knew what else he did that we hadn't even seen. I seethed wondering just how he'd managed it.

"A swan, Em." I felt Edward's eyes on me as I turned my back to both of them.

"Oh yeah, well, I've got my guys over there now getting rid of as much of it as they can. Bella, you're going to have to get new stuff for your bed, and most likely new carpeting in there. The feathers are easy enough, but the blood-"

"Em, _enough_." I turned back to them as Edward handed Emmett a beer and walked toward me with a martini. "Here, drink up." His one hand wrapped around my hip as the other held the drink in front of me. I would've ripped it out of his hand if I could without spilling it.

I took back half of the drink, feeling the burn and the salty taste travel over my tongue and down my throat. "What the_ fuck_ am I gonna do now?" It was somewhat of a whisper, but from the back of my burning throat.

"You'll stay here." Edward said decisively, his chin nudging my shoulder.

Jerking myself from him, I took two steps away and spun around to face him. "Dammit Edward, staying with you short term is...is…merely tolerable."

"_Merely…tolerable?_" It was said slowly, and I could tell his patience was nearly as thin as one of my thongs as he brought his drink up and took back half of the warm brown liquid.

"It's _long _term. It's my home, for fuck's sake. I don't know if I can...go back there, but I sure as hell am not living with you." I hauled back what remained of my drink and stormed over to the bar, fully intent on mixing another or heading straight for the Patron.

"Oooookay. Everybody just calm down." Emmett said taking a swig of his beer. "Bells, my guys can have this all done in a couple of weeks, even if you'd prefer to go hardwood this time around. You know, in the bedroom." Emmett's smirk, while he tried to hide it, showed aplenty as he sat up in the chair, resting his elbows on his knees.

"Get it done, Emmett, whatever it costs." Edward's tone was boardroom-esque, and I knew he was watching me pour what was left in the shaker into my glass.

"Oh _hell _no, Mr. I'll-handle-everything-Cullen. I will _manage_ this." I glared at him and then glanced at Emmett. "I want hardwood. So I can punish the next fucker who dares to step into it." Emmett didn't hide his laugh.

"Emmett, I think it's time for you to go. See to it you're at the office bright and early, before we arrive. You're going to have to drive yourself, so as to not arouse suspicion. Bella and I will arrive at our normal time. I've already made the necessary calls to have the workstation set up for you."

"Yes, Emmett, and do make sure that you keep your lunch hour open so I can introduce you to the fuckroom and keep up appearances."

It was all Emmett could do not to run to the door. "I'll call you, Ed." He took once glance at me as he walked over, setting his beer down on the top of the bar, as Edward's eyes seared a hole in either Emmett's back or through me. I wasn't sure because I refused to meet him eye-to-eye. Fuckwit.

"We'll get him, Bells. Try and…relax." He said as he nudged my chin but I jerked it aside, not in the mood for his playfulness. He exhaled long and hard as he turned, and with one last glance at Edward, and a "Later, bro," walked down the hall, the slam of the door behind him telling me I was on my own. If I'd thought my blood was boiling earlier…

"Just what the hell was _that_, Bella?"

I glanced at him over the rim of my drink as I took a sip and then turned to the view out the windows of the lake, which was completely dark now as far as the eye could see, with only a smattering of tinkling lights of sailboats littering nearer the shore. The view was dark, just like my mood, and getting darker. Frustration built upon days of shitstorm after shitstorm, uncertainty as to what to do, where to go, how to maintain, and not just control, but…equilibrium. Life had thrown down her corset and garter, along with a torrent of lust embodied in one Edward Cullen, and some pussy-whipped assbackwards cowboy on crack who had set his eyes on me and revenge. Of those three, I latched onto the one that I could.

"Edward, let's get something straight. You may be fucking me, but you don't _own_ me." My back to him, I heard his glass hit wood, probably the coffee table, and then his purposeful footsteps until he stood directly behind me. My God I could feel it, the heat, the anger emanating from him, and my body's response to it. It went through my like molten lava, spreading, overpowering everything in its path, and I caught the reflection of his eyes behind me in the glass in front of me.

"Is _that_ what you think that was?" He questioned, his voice steady but the anger just beneath the depths.

I took another long sip of my drink, debating for a moment what was in my head rather than blurting it out. He took another step towards me, and I glanced down, the reflection in the window showing his hands in fists. "I am not your employee here, Edward, nor anywhere else outside the office. I have my life, you have…" Before I could say yours, his hand reached out for my drink wrenching it from my hand, causing me to turn as he set it on the bar.

"Hey-" It hung in the air, as his body forced me up against the window, his hands grabbing my wrists and forcing them above my head where he held them, a slight pop in my shoulders made me wince from the too-quick movement.

"Bella…" he said through clenched teeth, "I should whip you for being so…" Just as suddenly, his lips were on my neck, and then his teeth, nipping, grazing a path to my chin as his free hand roamed over and squeezed my tit, "…utterly wrong." I could smell the alcohol as his breath came over me, and his eyes lifted to meet mine. "How can you be so intelligent and yet…"

"Yet, _what_?" I squirmed against him, pulling at my imprisoned hands, ducking my head, and considering for a split second a straight shot of my knee to his balls. The chill from the air-conditioned glass pressed against my back made me unexpectedly shiver even though I was hotter than the core of any currently active volcano.

"So…in_fur_iatingly…not." His words came out hushed but not whispered, low but not growling, as his hand slid down my side, over my hips, and between my legs. My head shot up as his fingers teased my pussy through my shorts, most likely feeling the warmth and wetness there, and I glared right back at him. But I knew my quick inhale was a dead giveaway to what he was doing to me.

Why was I finding this so incredibly…hot? Why could he make me forget what I was, _who_ I was? Make me want to chuck to the curb my principles and ideals it had taken years to develop and master? Was it the power struggle, the thought of winning, conquering, or something _else_?

But most of all, why in the midst of all of this bullshit and mayhem, didn't I care?

I swallowed hard as his eyes searched mine, and I met them, unwilling to give away the thoughts that were in my head. I couldn't let him have the upper hand anymore. No. But before I could move my legs closer together, the push of his foot inside one of mine stopped any movement forcing me to stay put and meet two very dark and angry emerald eyes.

I wanted to knee him. I wanted to strangle him. I wanted to fuck him until we were both senseless.

"I will do everything in my power to protect you, Bella. Whether you like it or not." With that, his mouth came crashing down on mind, his hand around my wrists pulling up the window stretching me, rendering me fully incapable of responding even if I wanted to.

Protect.

For some reason, my mind latched on to the word, repeating it over and over again, as our tongues once again fought for dominance, or was it just…hunger. Before I could decide, he slid his fingers from between my legs to squeeze into my hip, as his body pressed into mine, grinding his still rock hard dick into my pelvic bone. For a minute, I thought he would push me through the glass.

Screw principles, screw crazy-ass cowboys, screw _thinking_. Just give me that cock inside me. Now. I didn't give a shit if I was buck naked, my ass pressed flat against the windows for the entire city to marvel over.

As if he read my thoughts, his hand let my wrists go finding the back of my neck, grasping, kneading, winding their way into my hair, twisting. My arms dropped to his shoulders, my own fingers now digging, pulling…

"Enough." He pulled his mouth, his hands, his body from mine, taking a step back and turning.

What the _motherfuck_?

The burn on my lips grew from where his had just been, my arms dropped like lead weights to my sides, my hands pressed against the glass, my breaths came swift and short.

I watched stunned as he walked away, the back of his hair a mess from where my fingers had been, the back of his shirt half untucked even though I had nothing to do with it, his ass…that ass sculpted and still fuckhot even under the cotton of his khaki shorts. The ass that was…

_Mine._

I pushed off from the glass, taking two steps and then breaking into a sprint.

"Oh no you fucking don't." I grabbed his forearm, pulling just enough to spin him, and then threw myself into him and him against the wall, the crash of a picture frame and the glass in it shattering on the floor. But neither of us cared, as he glared down at me and I glared right back up at him, nostrils flaring, both of us speedbreathing.

"What do you want, Bella?" He countered, pressing his lips into a thin line. The words took me by surprise, my face most certainly blanching.

I stared back at him, losing focus as my mind threw speedball questions. What did I want? I wanted to fuck him, I wanted him to fuck me. Yes. I wanted that. But what he was asking, it implied something_ else_, and something within me grumbled as if waking out of a deep sleep. What did I _want_?

The questions came like images, visions, microcosms of memories.

Yours, no Edward, on his knees? Yes and no.

Edward in his office, his fingers at the base of my spine, our tongues entwined? Yes.

Edward cuffed and clamped and sweating with pain? Yes, kind of.

Edward's skin pressed up to my back, his arm around me, holding me, protecting…

"I…Edward…"

"Fuck, Bella." He murmured, his hands inching up until his fingers dug into my shoulders, pulling me closer still. The green of his eyes burned, searing into my own.

"Exactly." I didn't want to think anymore, clenching and twisting his shirt in my hands pulling him and his mouth to mine, forcing my tongue in and finding his. One of his hands traveled to my ass, the other to my neckline, his long fingers stretching and tangling in my hair, tilting my head, his mouth pressing hard, his tongue seemingly punishing me for all that I had said.

Or _not _said.

I tugged at his shirt, intending on using anything I could find in his _special_ room, but his hands at my hips turned me toward his bedroom. One of his hands left me reaching out for the light switch, our mouths unable to disconnect. I had been on a mission since we'd left my condo. A mission to erase the all of the bullshit Assper was trying to fuck me with. He was trying to mess with my head, because he no longer would touch my body. Because…because…

I didn't give a fuck about the room.

His hands clutched the base of my shirt until I felt a stretch and heard a rip as he tore it straight up the middle. I'd been stumbling backwards, neither of us able to tear our mouths from each other and the ferocity of our tongues. His hands went behind me, unhooking my bra, as he tugged my arms from where they still fisted his shirt, sending everything that was left on me to the floor. He shoved with his body and his hands until I fell back, landing on the bed. Dropping to his knees at the foot of the bed, he worked the button and zipper on my shorts until they were around my ankles. The swift way he was making work of my clothes had me breathing faster as my panties were forcibly pulled from me and off my ankles before I could utter a word.

"Know this…" he breathed against the skin of my calf as he ran his lips and tongue up it and then up along the inside of my knee, stopping mid-thigh "…I'm Yours tonight, My Queen…" and then repeating the same movement up my other leg, stopping at my inner thigh, "but I plan on making you come…" his hands slid up my legs slowly pushing them apart "…_my_ way."

Fuck me_….__**all **_ways.

I lifted myself up on my elbows just in time to see his shit grin and his tongue lick all the way up to my clit, his eyes on mine the entire time. My insides went straight from helicopter to Mach 20 as his tongue licked and swirled, his hands pushing me further apart, as my thigh muscles tensed.

My God he was a master with the tongue too, and the sound that left me told him just how much.

I couldn't help but watch as he slid his hands inward, his thumbs now teasing my entrance, spreading me open, as his tongue pressed, his mouth sucked and worked me over. I knew my breathing, or lack thereof, was a sure sign, until I felt his fingers sliding inside me. My head fell back, my eyes closed, as I just…let him and all the fuckawesome sensations pulse and tense through me, my mind losing all vocabulary except for three words.

Yours. Mine. Always.

Always.

_Always?_ My eyes suddenly flashed open. It was blurry, but I knew the ceiling was up there somewhere, but fuck if I could see it, fuck if I could concentrate on anything except for that tongue…those fingers…my insides wanting to…

"Ed…fuck..." On an exhale it came out and I nearly-

"Don't you dare come, Bella."

I groaned out of sheer frustration combined with the effort it took to do what he asked.

Wait. _What?_

Why was I…waiting? Why was I…following his command?

His fingers slid further in - those incredibly long, supremely divine, amazingly talented fingers – in and out, curling, his tongue the most blissful torture ever-

"Now."

I barely heard the word as he sucked my clit into his mouth, his teeth barely touching it, his fingers directly on…

Omyfuckinghelluva…and I let go with a noise that was more of a scream than not, my hand grabbing for his hair and pulling, the other keeping balance while clenching the material underneath it.

"Edward…" I panted, my body rocketing, my hips jutting up each time his tongue touch my now overly-sensitized clit, my insides rolling over and over as his fingers continued to push and spread and curl, and…

"Fuckin'-A!" I fell back, once again unable to focus, to remember my name, existence as a philosophical metaphysical principle became clear and I drifted on a plane of merely being.

_My God, I love you._

My eyes shot open, my entire body jerked so violently, Edward's head came up suddenly and I could see his face. His eyes were now like emerald rays solely focused on my own, holding them, me, in some state of complete paralysis.

Had I said it out loud?

Had he _heard _me?

Holy fuckin' euphoric eureka.

His eyes stayed on mine, as he knelt back undoing his shorts, standing briefly to send them flying. _Holy bonanza Batman, he'd been commando._ His one hand reached behind his head, pulling his shirt over his head and then in the direction his shorts flew. His gaze never faltered, as he slowly crawled up the length of me. I couldn't look away.

Now on top of me, propped up only by his elbows, his eyes darted over my face, while his hands on either side brushed away my hair. All I could do was stare back at him, wondering what was going through his head. Until he slowly brought his lips to mine, a gentle brush, and then once again his tongue, his taste and my own mingling. Soft, yet almost questioning, his lips took my top one, then my bottom, and then his tongue again, my hands finally finding the strength to wander up his sides and then up to his shoulder blades, my fingernails softly scraping over his skin. My nerve endings were still firing, the aftershocks going off inside me, the two sides of my brain fighting each other and the feeling that was rushing over me – indescribably incredible.

I wanted him inside me. Needed him inside me. More than ever.

"Edw-"

"Shhhh." He moved down me again, knowing what he didn't allow me to ask. He stood at the foot of the bed, his eyes running over my body, until his palms ran over the tops of my thighs and then to the side, his fingers wrapping purposefully, and suddenly I was pulled toward him. He took my leg, kissing the inside and caressing it as he raised it to his shoulder, while stroking himself with the other. He stared back at me, teasing his tip over my clit making my hips buck again, until I felt that perfect cock of his mercifully push inside me. Slowly he moved in and out, torturing the both of us.

Vanilla. I couldn't remember the last time I'd had it. But more than that, I couldn't ever remember anyone making me feel…

The boy had some _serious_ control.

"Dammit, Ed…please." It was barely a whisper, as the light reflected off the small beads of sweat on his forehead.

But it was enough to break the spell, as his hand tightened around my hip, and he rammed into me, my back arching to meet him. The words "hell yes" caught on my tongue as his sounds and moans quickened with each deep thrust.

Until I felt it starting to build inside me again, that sweet cinching of my walls around him, the tightening of every muscle I had tits to toes. I knew he felt it to.

"Bella…"

My fingers slid down my stomach to touch myself, finding the sweet spot, and the mere sight of them sent Edward over the edge, his primal grunt music to my ears overpowering the music still on the stereo.

It was all I needed, as he pushed my leg from his shoulder, and fell forward, catching himself on his hands until his elbows bent and he balanced on his forearms. My body exploded from within and shook from the force of his thrust as he came. I had just enough strength left to lift my hand to his shoulder, and then to his cheek.

"My…King." I breathed out.

He rested his forehead between my tits for only a moment, his body shaking and jutting into me, riding out the intensity, until he raised his head thrusting one last time. The sweat lingering on his forehead made me want to reach up and wipe it away, until I glanced down, meeting his gaze. His breath rushed across my chin as his lips pressed to mine, and then softly brushed over them. Rolling to the side, he took me with him, our lips only coming apart to allow us to breathe. My head fell to his chest because I didn't have the strength to hold it up, his heart racing beneath my ear.

"Cullen?" I managed to mutter.

"Yes…My Queen?" He panted.

"Guarantee…_that_ every night, and I'll…most definitely stay." I smirked, turning my head and licking his nipple.

"Every?" He questioned with a snort.

I took his nipple in my teeth, pulling it as I lifted my head up slightly and just enough that his head came up as he inhaled sharply. I smiled slowly, letting it go. "Well, there is that fine art of compromise…" I trailed off, laying my head back down still holding my grin.

He busted a gut, his arm coming up around the center of my back and hugging me even closer to him. "Indeed, My Queen."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

I glanced at his hand in mine, and then surreptitiously up at him and then back out the windshield. That next morning, and every morning since, I had been put to bed in a similar fashion, although Edward had let me play with a few of his toys one night. Yes, I had managed to pick out a few things from his collection, and I smiled inwardly at the memory. He'd done his best to give me my space in the evenings, although I liked being with him, watching him from my spot on the couch, my laptop on my legs. Every time his frustration set in, my Surething would run that huge hand with those amazing fingers through that fuckhot bedhair, and I would feel it right between my legs.

And _that_. That…feeling wasn't just all about sex, although I'd decided all about Wednesday he wasn't just the fuck of the century, but the fuck of the _millennium_.

No. That night, when the words I love you had flitted through my brain in an orgasmic haze, something had changed. Groundbreaking, earthshattering, call it what you will, but it had fucked with my head ever since.

Because Edward hadn't mentioned a thing. The one time I needed a tell - hell even for him to find the stones to admit to me he heard it – he never said a word. Nor did he even come close to muttering those words to me, himself, and I didn't have the stones to ask him.

Stalemate.

Asshat.

Which of course made me stew even more. My fuckhot protector Edward, my stalking-psycho Assper, my eye-candy bodyguard Emmett, now stationed right outside my office flirting with every skirt that walked by.

It was the closest to fucking insane I'd ever been.

The work week had been uneventful, aside from getting ready for the National Sales Meeting which would officially start on Monday, but Edward and I were required at meetings on Sunday. It was now Friday, our last full day in the office until we spent next week in a room, our room, at the Trump Towers with the rest of the company. Edward was adamant about sharing a room, and none to happy about the hours that we would be apart in separate conference rooms. I had presentations to give, reps to school. Edward had higher level meetings to attend, but I knew he would be sneaking out and finding me, even though Emmett had been assigned to shadow me.

Emmett, in only four days and approximately 32 hours, had solidified himself as the office go-to guy for all of the single gals, and not so single gals, and I'd even caught him flirting with Rose. With my door opened that first afternoon, I happened to overhear Em's first attempts at the bitch on heels, not to mention her snippy refusal, and stifled a giggle as she reached my doorway. But as the days went by, and Emmett kept at it, Rose became less…Rose. I might even say she softened to him a little, as soft as Rose could ever be, and I was probably the only one who noticed.

Edward pulled into the underground garage, deftly maneuvering his car into his assigned space. He had mentioned to Emmett one night that the way he saw it, work was the safest place for me – too many people around, not to mention the fact that if Assper even made an appearance, he would be recognized even if he got past security. Emmett's reminder of a potential accomplice had silenced Edward, but sent my mind into action. I wracked my immensely overloaded brain trying to come up with any asshole who might actually have been on his side, do his dirty work, and the only person that I knew had been that close to him, the only person who could conceivably be a possibility to anyone who had been paying attention…

…was myself.

As we reached the service elevator alone and walked in, Edward let the doors close before he reached around my hip to pull me close. "I have a VP meeting at nine, which might last a couple of hours, but Emmett-"

"I'll be fine, Edward. I've got a shitton of stuff to get organized for next week, a meeting with Production at eleven, and a nice solitary lunch in my office planned. So you can tuck your cape into your desk drawer." I didn't look at him, instead watching as the number on the screen flashed five.

"Perhaps I should call you in for a two o'clock. A two o'clock that lasts til four."

I rolled my eyes even though I knew he couldn't see. "I'll have my phone on 'Send all Calls'." I said, walking through the door.

"I'll send an Outlook request." He kept on, walking behind me.

"I'll decline." I grinned, my back still to him, until I felt a tug on my hair, which I'd conveniently put in a low ponytail.

"I'll fire your ass." He whispered as I whipped around, his grin as I glared up at him offsetting the uberbitchface I was giving him.

I eyed him up and down, thanking the gods there was no one else in the corridor. "I wonder if Jacobsen at Wadsworth is still looking for that director position…" I threatened as I as I did the heel-toe-shift, sauntering away making sure to sway my ass just enough.

"I have just enough time to call Harry in HR…" I heard him jest through a chuckle.

"Have a good day, Edward." I cut him off as I rounded the corner to go down my hall, holding in my laugh until I was just in front of Emmett's cube, until I saw who was standing in the threshold, tossing her blond locks.

_Oh Emmett, you have no idea what you're up against._

My laughter now clearly audible, I opened my door and walked through, noticing a long white box tied with a red ribbon on my desk.

_Now why the fuck would Edward…_

Hanging my suit jacket behind the door, I shook my head as I sat in my chair, taking my laptop out of my briefcase and setting it into the docking station.

"Bella?" Rose's head peeked through the mostly-closed door. "Oh! Flowers!" Rose walked her gorgeous ass in, closing the door only partly behind her. "I didn't know you were seeing someone?"

Even though she had her lips stretched in a gorgeous smile, I knew Rose better, and could hear the sarcasm. I smiled back at her, not giving a yes or no, and pulled on the ribbon letting it fall and grabbing at the edges of the box pulling it up.

"Bella, I..." Emmett's voice came from the doorway, but I didn't hear the rest of what he said.

People say moments like this happen in slow motion, a way for your mind to process and yet have enough time to guard itself from harm.

I remember hearing Rose scream. I remembered hearing Emmett's roar, something that sounded like a No!

I remembered looking into the box, seeing the plastic, the black tissue paper and the white of a swan's head, what was left of its neck covered in blood and some pooling around in the plastic that was over it.

I remembered my lower back hitting the lumbar support behind me on my chair.

I didn't remember what Edward only described to me later as Emmett's attempt to control the situation, nor Edward actually even arriving in my office, or even Emmett telling people as they knocked on the door that Rose had seen a spider.

Emerald eyes, only their corners pinched hiding concern. A faraway voice saying my name over and over, louder and louder. Hands on my forearms slowly rubbing back and forth until they ran up my shoulders and held my face.

"Bella!" That voice. His voice. Edward.

"I swear to God I'm going to kill that fucker myself." I said out loud and to those emerald eyes, which then knelt down in front of me, a long hard exhale as they did, and two very large hands taking mine in their own.

"Not before I do." Edward whispered, bringing my hand to his lips and kissing it softly.

* * *

Erp. I know! Another cliffie! Please don't stone me! LOL!

As always, thanks so much for reading, and for sharing your thoughts if you so choose.


	8. Chapter 8

Short and sweet, just like me.

Humps and smoochies to JaspersIzzy for prereading this chappie, and to HammerHips for workin' her magic, as per usual. Lubes you both.

Enjoy...

* * *

**Chapter 8**

It was maddening, sitting in Edward's car, one leg crossed, my fingers punishing the top of thigh, my nails dragging over the fine fabric of my outrageously expensive, just-this-side-of-legal-for-work, skirt.

But I didn't give a shit.

He was doing the Indy 500 run again, two hands on the wheel this time. Emmett and Rose were in front of us, both cars veering down the Stevenson and back into the city, presumably to lock me away and throw away the key.

I bristled.

Damn it to hell if I was going to let this go on much longer. The FUCK if I was going to let some hick cowboy get to me with his bullshit games, threaten my life, _ruin _my life without fighting back.

When I found him, that fucker was going to hurt. Burn. _Beg_ for his balls.

But who the hell had gotten into my office? Who would have the _stones _to even walk around with that box, set it down, and get out without anyone even giving a flying fig?

_How_ had _no_ one seen a damn thing?

Behind my closed office door, Edward had stayed on one knee in front me, periodically running his hands over mine and then up my forearms, until he asked Rose for my jacket from behind the door. I remembered staring into his eyes, and then at the buckle on his belt as he stood up to grab it, and then at his fly as he wrapped my jacket around my shoulders. Those first moments after I'd recognized Edward were like a silent movie to me – the clackety-clack of Edward and Emmett speaking short, succinct, phrases like old school film running through a projector - but recognition and meaning were lost to the image of a bloody Swan head repeating in my conscious periphery. Rose was there…somewhere, in my office, sitting, standing, but strangely quiet. Edward demanded in a something just above a low growl to know what happened, looking from the two of them and then more tenderly at me.

"I just walked in. The box was on my desk. I thought it…" I hesitated, sneaking a sideways glance, feeling Rose's eyes bearing into me like javelins. "…they were from you."

"_Emmett?_" Edward said through gritted teeth as he spun on his knee toward where Emmett was still by the door.

"I didn't see a thing. Rose and I were right here."

Edward not-so-subtle sneer at Rose didn't go unnoticed by me.

"I didn't see anyone." She hastily added, slowly dropping into the chair behind her.

"Did you check her office when you got here?"

"No. The door was closed, I-"

"_Fuck_." Edward nearly whispered as he focused once again on me, stifling Emmett's attempt at explanation. His eyes searched mine, the scowl on his face softening just a smidge.

"Rose, go back to your desk and _quietly_ gather your things. You're coming with us. Make your way out to the parking lot as inconspicuously as you possibly can. Emmett, go to my office, get my laptop, my keys should still be on my desk. Bring them to the garage, where I'll meet you to get them, get Rose, and meet us back at my place."

"Aren't you going to call the police?" Rose squeaked out.

Edward's neck nearly snapped his head turned so quickly toward her. The look he gave her would've stopped the running of any bull in Pamploma.

"Go." Edward's command took on the level of shouted whisper.

Emmett didn't waste a fucking minute, ushering Rose out, box tucked under his arm. Thank God the ruckus of nosey officeworkers had stopped banging on my door, stopped trying to get the next hour's gossip fodder for all things social media.

"I'd prefer not to carry you out of here, Bella. I'll garner too much attention."

"I can walk, Edward."

"Then let's go," he said quickly, extending his hand.

Our stealth exit had been successful, Edward using his best 007 escape tactics, pulling me along by my hand, ushering me by my hips into the service elevator, keeping my hand in his, my briefcase on his other shoulder as we descended. The fog that I'd been in from the utter disbelief of what had happened was rapidly subsiding, being replaced by the slow boil of rage. We reached the garage, and somehow Emmett was already there as the elevator doors opened, Rose waiting in his car. Handing Edward his laptop and keys, he sprinted away, as Edward's long legs and purposeful walk had me nearly running to keep up. Note to self: Laboutins aren't meant for the 50-yard dash.

With his powerful hand guiding my lower back, I slid into the seat obediently.

"I can do it." I snipped, his hand pulling on the seat belt.

He dropped the belt, shutting my door as he ran to his side. I buckled myself in, leaned my head back, and took the deepest breath known to man.

As we sped out of the garage and toward the highway, neither of us spoke.

No words, no music.

Just the fucking insanity of silence swirling around us both.

All I could think about was getting my hands on Assper's balls, twisting them, and relieving him of any chance of future procreation.

We were halfway to the city, when I glanced over the space between Edward and me, and then up at his hands on the steering wheel, focusing on those incredibly long, immensely satisfying fingers gripping the leather underneath them, turning and weaving with effortless fluidity, not caring the way my body swayed and swerved as he dodged each driver impeding his intended destination.

The impenetrable fortress of Edward Cullen.

Leaning my elbow against the center console, I huffed, my forehead pounding, my fingers running across it to alleviate what was becoming less of a pain in my ass, and more of a headache of gargantuan proportions.

Edward's one hand finally left the wheel, reaching across to touch my forearm, pulling it toward him until he had my hand, entwining his fingers between mine, a gentle squeeze of support as he held it captive.

"Talk to me." Although it was a command, his voice seemed gentle even in its authority. I wasn't sure if I was more shocked by the tone, or the fact that he'd broken the silence. "Tell me exactly what happened, every detail you can remember."

My huff was harder this time, although my eye roll was hidden. "Why? I've told you already. There isn't much to tell since I just walked in, Rose came in, I opened the box…I may have heard Emmett say…something…and then…it's a little fuzzy. Until I heard you. _Saw_ you."

I turned to see his look of relief settle into his shoulders, the pad of his thumb running over mine, but the determination still set in that perfectly sculpted jaw line. The prickly feeling slowly going up my arms was not from the air conditioning blasting out from the vents. Staring at him, I caught his glance into the side rearview mirror, and then back forward.

What the _fuck_? He was hiding something.

"What aren't you telling me?" I pulled on his hand in mine, as his quick intake of breath and complete avoidance of my glare told me plenty, and it wasn't just because he was concentrating on blazing a trail.

"Dammit, Edward!" I quickly shifted forward again, swiping my hand from his and folding my arms across my chest.

"It was for your own protection." He veered onto the shoulder to pass an idiot in the left lane going nowhere near 55 mph. "Emmett came to my office the other day with his suspicions."

Wait until I saw Emmett again. A tongue lashing from anyone else would seem like a pink satin ribbon to flesh.

"You should've had them as well. You're smarter than this. You're letting emotions get in the way."

"Goddammit Edward, stop being so fucking cryptic. Right now, I only have _one_emotion," I said through gritted teeth.

"Opportunity, access, and motive. Think, Bella."

"I can't fucking _think_ anymore." I turned to look out the window, frustrated with my admission, getting increasingly pissed at my inability to see what was apparently right in front of me.

_Right_ in front of me.

Right…_fucking_…in…front…of…

My eyes darted from the side window, over the dashboard, and then focused hard through the windshield, as the possibility and the inevitability of who they suspected became clearer and clearer. Suddenly I saw myself, whip in hand, precision thrown to the wind for the immense pleasure of breaking open flesh…

Squeezing my hands around that long slender neck as the last attempts at breath,

at life,

left it.

"Bella." Edward whisperyelled and tugged at my hand as we neared his door.

"_Edward_." I countered, knowing full well he was trying to get me to obey the instructions he'd given me in the car in a voice similar as if he were telling me changes to one of my proposals.

_Fuck that._

The problem was…

I knew he was right.

_Insufferable ass._

"Emmett, I demand you tell me what's going on."

We both stopped in our tracks right in front of the door, the carpeted hall hiding our approach. It was Rose's voice, her snark-level only at medium decibel, and Edward put his index finger to his lips. I tried not to think about that finger, or the lips behind them, and where my body was telling me I really wanted that finger, and possible another two.

I quickly flicked my head and the image from it, avoiding his gaze and leaning my ear to the door.

"I suggest you keep that fire in check and those pretty lips shut until they get here." I could just picture Emmett's sneer through the door.

Edward was already looking down at me as my eyes went up and met his. He put his finger up again, and mouthed the word "wait". I nodded, as the smack of 4 inch heels hit the floor.

"Emmett, what the _fuck_ is going-"

"I _suggest_ you sit down, Miss Hale."

Before Rose had a chance to blow like Old Faithful, Edward nodded to me and opened the door, letting me walk in first. My fists were balled up at my sides, trying to _maintain_, trying not to lunge at her as I walked down the hall and Rose's eyes met mine as I entered the room.

"Oh, thank God, Bella. Maybe you can tell me-"

"Hello, Rose." It was evenly delivered, downright friendly, and amazed even me. As I lofted my suit jacket onto the back of the couch, the force of my Laboutins on the hardwood was the only evidence of my mood. I walked to the bar to occupy my hands with something, _anything_, making myself a drink the first thing coming to mind, inwardly hoping I didn't crush a glass in my fingers. It was noon…somewhere.

"Emmett? The usual?"

"Yep."

"Edward?"

"I'm fine, Bella."

Rose's eyes went back and forth to each one of us, obviously pissed, and getting more so by the minute.

She didn't _know_ pissed.

"Ok, I give. Bella, can I have-"

"Rosalie, as Emmett said, I suggest you remain quiet." Edward interrupted her. "_I'll_ be asking the questions." His tone was exactly as it had been that day in Camelot with Jasper.

I snuck a glance at him, as he intimidatingly walked just shy of her dance space, pausing for a glare down at her, and then to nearly the stereo, turning back and stopping in front of the fireplace to face her once again. My gut coiled like a rattler, but for once in my life, I attempted to follow the rules. _Edward's_ rules.

I could tell by her face she was trying to project that confident, pole-up-her-ass Rose-air, but I knew her too well. Not only did she not know she was dealing with a Dom, but she hadn't had enough dealings head-on with Edward to know how overmatched she was. I couldn't help but compare him now to what he'd been like our first meeting in my office, the raw power that he exuded then was nothing to what was coming off him now.

He would tear her to shreds.

And it made me so _fuckin_ hot.

I hardly had to concentrate as I poured vodka, vermouth, and ice in the shaker since making my drink was like breathing for me. I opened Emmett's beer and set it on top of the bar. His hand was so fast reaching for it, I was already looking at the side of his head as he took a swig.

"I'm going to be very clear here, Rose. You either tell us where he is, or Emmett here…" Edward nodded in Emmett's direction, "my _brother_, will take care of getting the information out of you in other, less desirable ways than just mere conversation."

Rose's eyes flew to Emmett's, and from my vantage point, I couldn't help but see Emmett shift in his seat slightly, taking his eye off Rose to put his beer on the counter. It was an unnecessary movement, and one that made me wonder what was exactly going on between Emmett and Rose.

"Your_ brother_? I…_Em_mett?" Her eyes stayed on the side of his head, until her shoulders straightened, her glare stopping on me for a brief moment, until she met Edward's eyes, tits out.

"I have absolutely no idea what you're asking me, Edward. Or who you're asking me about. Unless it's about what happened to Bella today, of which I'm in the dark as much as you. If you're insinuating that I know something, you're sadly mistaken."

_Oh, Rose. You do NOT know who you're fucking with._

"I see." Edward shifted on his foot, walking toward the couch, turning back once again, but not sitting.

"So we're to believe that you have no knowledge of what's been happening to Bella-"

Rose's head whipped back to me, her expression surprisingly concerned. "No! What do you mean happening? Bella, I swear…" Rose went to get up, but Emmett was off the bar stool and in front of her before her Manolo's took another step. She sat back down slowly, her eyes darting between Emmett's and mine until she was seated again.

"I swear to you, Edward, to all of you. I don't know what you're implying or suggesting. I don't know a damn thing! But Bella, are you alright? What else happened to you?"

Leaning my elbow on the bar, I did a half turn to avoid answering her, my eyes roaming the top of the bar, over the floor, and landing on the magnificent profile curve of Edward's ass. Everything he'd told me in the car, everything I knew about Rose, my gut started to tingle. If anything, I could read Rose like no one else. I knew what made her tick, what got her off, and everything in between. However, right now that gnawing little feeling right above my very bare and slightly throbbing Godadavida was telling me that something wasn't right, something wasn't adding up.

_Fuck_.

My head fell, my eyes closed, and the fingers not holding my drink went through my hair in frustration. I knew it in my gut. I knew it between my legs. I knew it in my head.

It wasn't her.

I set my glass down on the bar, and started to walk straight in front of her.

"Bella, no." Edward's and Emmett's bark rang out, Emmett's arm flew out in front of me, as Edward took a step toward me.

I pushed away Emmett's arm, annoyingly strutting by him and stopped a foot in front of her. Her body language was as if there were no others in the room - the eyes going down, the shoulder slumping - a reaction so basic, so ingrained, it only served to reinforce what I already knew. If she was involved, there would have been some form of defiance, some slight movement or positioning that would lead me to think otherwise. But all signs were that her submissive tendencies hadn't died with whatever she knew now of Edward and me, and that in her mind, I was still her Queen.

"They know, Rose." Her eyes slowly came up from the floor, but only as high as my waist, as if she were taking in what I just said. For a brief moment, I actually felt a smidge of pity for her, something I could not, _would_ not, ever tell her. "Did you willingly help him, or did he blackmail you in some way?"

"Bella, I swear, on everything, on whatever you want me to, I don't know what you're talking about."

I watched her for a minute longer, she didn't waver, she didn't even clench her hands from where she'd put them on the tops of her thighs. The pity that I felt had turned to sympathy, as I realized our world – my world with her – was ending.

"It's not her." Spinning around, I whisked back to the bar, grabbing my drink and heading into the kitchen. The realization that I didn't want her anymore, that I wanted someone _else_ so much _more_, hit me like 95-mph fastball in the side of the head. It had taken everything I had in me to get out of that room, away from her, him,_ them_, because the last thing I needed to do was show weakness, out there, in front of her, in front of _Edward_. I slid my glass on the kitchen counter, my palms on the edge, leaning into to it, as I took a deep, steadying breath to regain control.

"Please tell me what's going on. What happened to Bella?"

Even from the kitchen I could feel Rose's head whipping back and forth between Edward and Emmett, as Emmett gave her the short version.

"Jasper? _Whitlock_? What…why?"

The uneasy silence was enough to make me down the rest of my drink, and turn to walk back out to the others, toward the bar, because I desperately needed another. Edward had risen from where he'd apparently been sitting on the couch, just in time to see me reappear. His words were like slamming into a force field. I nearly bounced back, stopping in my tracks.

"Because he and I have… a history. The less you know the better, Rose. Emmett will take you home now."

The feeling in my fingers suddenly disappeared.

I heard glass shattering…somewhere…but the only thing my mind registered was the penitent stare of those Emerald fuck-me eyes, their intensity lasering into my brown ones now icily returning their unspoken plea.

_Not now, Bella._

Fuming didn't even begin to describe what I felt like inside. His eyes held mine as Emmett gathered up Rose. She stopped between the war of silence that Edward and I were having, blocking my view and effectively distracting me.

Rose started to squat. "Let me help you-"

"Leave it, Rosalie." Edward's voice boomed from behind her.

She slowly stood back up, her expression one of chastisement, until she looked straight at me, flipping the blond strands that had fallen forward as she knelt, a defense mechanism to say _fuck off_ to Edward without actually saying it. Those dark violet eyes now held mine, pleading. "I wouldn't hurt you Bella, despite what you may think, despite…" She tilted her head toward Edward. "I'll let you know if I think of anything." She turned away, her head hanging a bit, until she stood up straighter, once again tossing the blond mane as Emmett caught up to her.

She poked him the bicep. "You…_you_…ugh." She stopped at the door just long enough for Emmett to open it for her, before barreling through.

Emmett turned back to Edward and me. "I'll call you later," and walked out behind her, shutting the door, his voice just barely hearable, "_Rose_. Rose! You _have_ to admit…" until his voice trailed off.

"Sometimes I can't believe he's my brother." Edward's statement brought my glare back to him, and then a cool glance of dismissal. I stepped over the broken glass, regaining my shit, on my way to the bar for a shot glass and the bottle of Patron, my inner thermometer now at seething.

Edward's loud exhale was uncharacteristic, as he went and took the seat that Rose had been in. I avoided looking at him, even though I could feel his eyes as they drilled holes in my skull. I tried to ignore the rage that was once again building, the unbelievable irony that _Edward_ had a past with Jasper.

Correction, with _ASS_per.

A past he'd neglected to mention. To _me_.

Once again proving that all men are assholes and are only useful for a good rough fuck. Nine times out of ten, they fuck that up too.

"It's not what you think."

I smacked the shot glass against the counter, grabbing the tequila bottle, beginning to pour. "And just what am I thinking, Edward, since you know all about me, know every little detail of my past and every inch of my body. Just what the _fuck_ am I thinking?"

"He wasn't my Sub."

I hauled back my shot, screw the salt and lime, the burning liquid making my eyes water.

An avoidable cough escaped, irritating me even more, as I poured another. "Oh, well then what was he? Your pool boy? Banana hammocks do it for ya?"

"Is that the pot calling the kettle?" His words struck like a cobra bite.

"Fuck _you_, Edward." I took the second shot like a champ, slamming the glass down once again on the bar, a fucking miracle it didn't shatter too. "Damn you for lying to me." Just above a whisper, and just this far from being a scream, my glare matching his.

"I didn't lie, Bella. I refrained from telling you."

"Semantics. You omitted a very integral piece of the enigma that is you, _ass_."

"Would you have told me about Rose? Or would you have just fucked me for a corner office?"

"I never got the chance, at_ either_, so I guess you'll never know."

Concentrating on the black granite top, Edward's admission sunk in further, although now I wasn't sure if I was madder at his revelation, or his biting reply.

"Ugh!" I screamed, spinning toward the windows, the blue sky and sunshine in complete opposition with what going on inside me. My hands came up to rub my bare upper arms, the cold air-conditioning in direct contrast to the heat radiating from me. I couldn't look at him, the treachery which I knew was sitting just feet from me, because in my head, all I could think of was that I'd just been fucked royally up the ass, and not the way I enjoyed it.

The sound of movement had me trying to see the reflection of him in the glass, as he flung his coat on the back of the couch, and began walking toward me ripping at the knot of his tie.

"Don't you dare touch me," I said, as my eyes once again focused out over the blue waters of Lake Michigan.

"Bella…" His exhale was long, irritated. "Stop with the accusations and the bitch-probe for just a minute and listen to me."

He stood directly behind me again, just like the other night, but the difference was, he was not going to use my anger to fuck. No. Not this time.

"Just tell me one thing, Edward. Was this all a game? Was this some sort of sick, twisted plan of yours? Yours and his?"

"What? NO! Do you think what he did to you that night at the club…do you think the boat…do you think the other _night_, this past _week_, was all some sort of _game_? Jesus, Bella. For someone so incredible intelligent, you really-" I could hear the scratch of his shoes as he turned and walked away, but he was NOT getting away with just that, and I whipped back to face him.

"Then was it is, Edward? What the fuck is going on? And why the _fuck _does Jasper want to…"

A stinging in the corners of my eyes, made me close them and fling my head back.

I could not cry. I _would _not cry.

But it was almost too much, as I tried once again to get a read on him. My eyes met his, one of his amazing hands already in his hair, fingers clenching, twisting, my lower body reacting as if in their grip, the scant strip of my thong growing wetter with each tug.

"It's me he's after."

"For fuck's sake, tell me_ why_, Edward._" _I demanded.

With one last glance at me, he strode over to the bar. The avoidance dance we were doing was becoming unbearable, but I was _not_ going to back down.

He grabbed the Scotch, a glass, and poured, taking back the whole thing. "Because the Domme that he had left him…

…for me." He poured another.

So he was right.

It _wasn't_ what I was thinking.

It was _soooo_ not what I was thinking, I caught myself taking a step toward him.

"She spotted me at a function. Her name was Tanya. I was…new to the lifestyle, and she saw something in me. I didn't know at the time what was happening, until he started threatening her – the same MO as you – odd packages being delivered to her house, emails and notes sent - until they stopped. I happened to see one of the notes one day. I never…asked her what happened. To this day, I don't know why she left him, but due to current circumstances, I'm led to believe it's because he's unstable."

My arms fell to my sides. Suddenly my shoes were uncomfortable, and way too high. I felt like I was going to topple over, so I reached out for the side of the bar as I lifted my feet out of my shoes, planting them firmly on the floor.

"My name was Masen back then. I'd changed it to…keep that part of my life hidden. Private. But he knows what I look like, and undoubtedly recognized me at some point." He took another drink, slower this time.

"But…but when I didn't get the job, when you _did_, he was very…he tried to tell me what a get you were. That stealing you away was the biggest coup since…since…" Suddenly, I felt cold, really cold. The palms of my hands felt clammy, sweaty, and I reached out to grab the bar with my other hand. "He _wanted_ you there."

"That's what he told you." Edward said through a derisive snort. "He was going to fuck me over. I think some of his financial bullshit was an attempt to do just that. You caught him before he could. The information you brought to my office that day was what I needed. Between your performance in the boardroom, or lack thereof, and the fact that I think he was following you and didn't like your other activities that didn't include him, you became his mark. You had chosen your side, and it wasn't his."

I thought back to that day in my office, where Assper had nearly…

"_You're fuckin' him, aren't ya?" _

"What happened to Tanya?"

"She overdosed, or so says the coroner's report."

With this, Edward turned toward me setting his glass on the bar, those dark, almost black Emeralds searching mine.

"She never did a drug in her life, Bella. Hell, she never even smoked a joint."

That…day. Their conversation when I woke up. Edward talking to Emmett.

"_That was before a suspected murderer was after her."_

_That _was what he meant.

"Shit." It just slipped out on a breath of disbelief, realization…and that feeling that had once been so foreign, now becoming way too familiar – fear. I grabbed the remainder of Edward's Scotch and took a sip, even though I hated it, not caring how wasted I was starting to feel.

"It was never proven. The community suspected him, but no one would come forward in fear that their lifestyle would be revealed. I thought after what he did to you at the club, after he was fired, that it would end. I won't allow him to get to you. Not again. I…"

I glanced up only because of Edward's hesitation, my head starting to swirl feeling like a dead weight as I did.

"I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you."

Dropping the glass in my hand, I leaned in hard against the bar, Edward's admission churning my insides as if it was a very large wooden spoon and I was the stockpot. The words echoed in my head swam with them, my stomach gurgled. What the _hell_ was happening to me? I had handled just about anything that had been thrown my way, anyone who dared fuck with me, but this…_this_? I wanted to run into the guest room, slam the door. No, I wanted to run out the door, gain my freedom, gain perspective. Even if I'd blurted out the other night the three words that I'd never thought to utter, I couldn't let myself believe in something I never thought existed.

Even if Edward hadn't heard them.

Even he didn't say them.

"_I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you."_

The room was spinning, no I was spinning, no… holy fuck I was drunk. I tried to swallow, but there was a very large hunk of shit in the back of my throat…

"Bella? Are you…"

I tried to take a step, my knee feeling like jello. My fingernails dug into granite until unavoidable recognition bubbled up my esophagus and I took off, straight to the bathroom, falling to my knees to worship once again the porcelain goddess. All of my drinks and chunks of my breakfast spewing out like Vesuvius. Until I felt Edward's hand grab my shoulder, the other whisking back my hair.

_Not again._

"_Fuck_, _Edward_…" I choked out between eruptions.

"Jesus _Christ_, Bella."

This wasn't happening. It was as if my body wanted to puke out everything in my head, everything I'd heard, everything I felt. For the first time in my life I didn't have the will, the energy to fight any longer. As the dry heaves took over, I lost the strength to hold myself with my arms that were still clinging to the seat. They started to slip, but Edward's arm came around my middle on cue, the handful of hair he had keeping my head from falling forward. Until we were both sure I was finished, and I felt myself being pulled back, my head being guided to his arm by his gentle pull of my hair.

"_No_ more tequila." Edward said rather forcefully, his attempt at being funny not even remotely fooling me. All I could do was scrunch up my face, burrowing it into the cotton material at his chest, the smells of him overcoming my god-awful stench. As if he knew, my body suddenly went forward, and the flush of the toilet clued me in as to why.

"Okay." I breathed out, and Edward's misfortune in that only dawned on me a minute later.

Edward's hand brushed across my cheeks and the wetness there. I didn't want to know if it was sweat, puke remnants, or some other liquid that was rarely found there, but his touch made me open my eyes to find his dark Emerald ones, the worry in his brow much deeper than I had ever seen it. I could barely lift my hand high enough to the deep v was between his eyes.

But I knew it was because of me.

"I did that." I whispered, touching the worry with my fingertips.

Losing strength, I ran them down over the strong cheekbones, across the chiseled line of his jaw feeling the tension, and his expression softened a bit. I trailed them down his neck onto his shirt, pushing them through the opening, feeling the soft hairs, the skin of his chest, and the racing of his heartbeat. I wanted to tell him thank you, as my fingers squeezed the material of his shirt. I wanted to tell him that I was scared, fisting the buttons and cotton. I wanted to tell him to hold me, just like this, for just a while longer.

I wanted to tell him…_something_.

"I…I need to brush my teeth." I finally croaked, pulling on his shirt to sit up on my own, but it wasn't the best decision I'd ever made, as the queasiness reared its ugly head, my head falling back as my grip loosened.

"Yes, you do." He quipped, his lips pressing gently to my forehead. "Allow me to assist you, My _Queen_." His low voice caressed, as I opened my eyes to just catch the quirk of the corner of his mouth.

Just like that, my ass was on the floor, Edward's arms sliding underneath mine, his hands locked just below my tits, until I felt myself being slowly lifted off the floor and led over to the sink.

"I'm not…finished…with you." I attempted to sound still sufficiently pissed through short breaths, even though I couldn't lift my head from the firm pects behind it. Steadying myself, I waited for the little flickering stars to fade, my head only lifting when they did. As my hands met the sink, I spotted Edward's face in the mirror to the side of my own.

I looked like shit twice over, and stepped on.

"Oh, we're _finished_. For now. We'll continue this discussion later, after you've brushed your teeth, I've put your gorgeous ass in my bed, and you've rested for at least an hour." Whatever small grin that had been there had disappeared, replaced by a look that told me he meant business.

I slowly reached up to open the medicine cabinet to get the toothpaste, effectively taking him from my view, attempting to hide that I couldn't fight him if I wanted to. Although it took every bit I had left to lift the toothbrush, I started to brush. Edward's arms were still holding around my ribs, when I noticed what my position was doing to him – my ass pressing against him - and the semi-erection in his pants.

There was some minute satisfaction that even in my current, roadkill-looking state, my ass up against that magnificent cock of his had some effect on him. I slowly leaned over to spit, pushing myself back into him, my teasing grin out of view as I leaned over the sink.

"If you're trying to test my patience, you're succeeding, Isabella." There wasn't even a smidge of joking in Edward's words, and even though he'd never done it before, his use of my full name was a clue.

"Patience, my ass." I muttered through the toothpaste, rinsed, and spit one last time.

"Precisely." His lips moved over the edge of my ear.

No sooner was my toothbrush in the holder, then said ass was lifted off the ground and hauled to Edward's bed, where for a split second I thought he was going to throw me. Even setting me down as gently as he did was enough to make my head spin again, and I laid it back on the pillow closing my eyes.

Edward moved in next to me taking my hand in both of his, the gentle massaging and the pressure of his thumb in my palm spoke volumes. "Cooperate, Bella. I know it's contrary to everything you're feeling, everything you know, but please just…sleep for a bit."

Taking a deep breath, I tried to listen to him, tried to wipe from my mind the bullshit swirling in it, but there were things I needed to do, things for next week, not to mention who was behind the box in my office.

"But Edward, the box, the NSM-"

"I'll make the necessary phone calls. Rose knows what needs to happen. The majority of the books and your materials are being shipped to the hotel. I know you have your shit in order, Bella. I'll make sure Rose and your team have it covered."

"Fine." I breathed out, turning on my side toward him.

"Thank you," he said, standing and walking over to a chair that had a decorative throw across the back, and coming back to lay it over me.

Leaning down, his lips barely touched mine. "Close those eyes, My Queen."

I couldn't help the yawn that escaped. "Y-yes, My King."

I never even heard the bedroom door close.

* * *

Thanks to all of you for your patience waiting for this one, for reading, and for reviewing if you so choose. MWAH!


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N**: I think some of you have been waiting for this one. *smirks*

Huggles and smoochies to my Pufferfish, HammerHips, for her confidence-boosting email and comments about this one, and to JaspersIzzy who begged hard for it.

To all of you who are finding it, reading it, alerting it, and even fav'ing it, I'm just...wow. Thanks.

Now on to...well, you'll see. ;)

* * *

**Chapter 9**

He was standing there looking soooo _fucking_ hot, his hand outstretched toward me, the epitome of a god in his gunmetal gray Armani, black shirt, black tie. My absolute _favorite_ combination.

A plain black mask covered his eyes, but I'd know those FuckMe Emeralds of his anywhere. His hand beckoned like a magnet, its counterpart somewhere in my gut drawing me to him.

Taking my one hand in his, his other sliding around to just above my ass, his voice was low, sexy, and impossible to refuse. "Dance with me."

Like the flip of a switch, the music started. He gathered me in, holding me, leading me, guiding me in each step of the dance and around the other couples on the floor.

It was a waltz.

The fuck if I knew how to waltz.

But it didn't matter, as he twirled and took me with him. The room spun and the couples hidden behind masks flew by. Spinning and spinning, my head growing dizzy, my eyes closed as he led me across the dance floor.

I'd never been one for queasiness, but a few more seconds and I was gonna hurl.

"Edward, I need to stop."

"It's almost over."

"No Edward, really. I can't-"

"What's the matter, Beller? Can't handle a little two-step?"

My eyes flew open to see the same black mask, but the hair, the face…The music stopped just as he twisted my arms behind my back, our chins nearly touching, his warm whiskey-laced breath nearly making me puke.

"J-jasper?" Disbelief, shock, and then…

Terror.

With that, he spun me around, one hand on my throat, the other pinning my wrists together. I could feel his smirk against my ear, his lips brushing the edge. "Now, where _were_ we?" His hand gripped tighter as I overcame my fear trying to wrench it away, but his fingers pinched further into my throat.

I did the only thing I could think of doing.

"Edward!" I screamed with all I had, my hands struggling to break free, twisting my body as much as I could until his hand left my wrists to circle my waist, pulling me off the floor to behind a panel just off the side. My eyes desperately scanned the dance floor, as my hands fought his arm, searching for him, searching for _anyone_.

It was completely empty.

"Say adios to Eddie, Beller." His sadistic laugh in my ear made me struggle one last time, digging my fingernails into the skin of his arm.

"No! Ed-" I choked out again.

"Bella!"

I heard his voice just as the stars began to twinkle on the edges of my vision, but the viselike hold on my throat now cut off all attempts at making any sound.

"No use strugglin', Darlin, there's no one to hear you."

Fuck, it was like déjà vu, and I kicked my heel back into his shin.

"Fuckin' bitch." He snarled, the side of my face smacking hard into a wall.

His body pinned me, the hand not on my throat lifting my dress higher and higher…

My lips formed his name one last time.

_Edward_

"Bella! Wake up!"

My shoulders shook, my one hand pushing against the hardness in front of me, the other flying up to the one on the side of my neck, pulling at it, tugging it away, fighting for every last bit of air that was left.

"Bella! You're dreaming! Wake UP!" My eyes shot open, my lungs gasping for air, and there he was.

Edward.

I shot straight up, my arms flying around his neck, clutching his shirt and the hair my fingers found at the nape of his neck. He pulled me closer, the safety of those amazing fingers spread across my back.

"Please let it be you. Please let it be you." I repeated over and over, as I felt him rock me slowly back and forth.

"It's me, it's me. Shhhhh."

I hung on to him even tighter, my breaths coming short and frantic.

Another goddamn nightmare.

"It was h-him."

I'd never hyperventilated before, but something told me I was close.

"Jasper?" He stopped rocking.

"N-no, first it was you…then it was him. He…I…" I shut my eyes trying to catch my breath. His hand came up to the back of my neck, his fingers in my hair. "You…you wanted me to dance. A waltz."

"A _waltz_?"

"Yeah, I know. And…and you kept spinning me, faster and faster, and then suddenly it was his voice. Y-you turned into him. He had his hand around my throat. He…"

"Shhh. It's me now."

"He…he told me to tell you goodbye." I mumbled as I buried my face into his neck.

"Oh, Bella…_baby_, it's just a nightmare. I'm not going anywhere."

My entire body tensed.

_Baby. _He'd called me this wasn't the first time.

"_Talk to me, baby. I need to hear you." _

My stomach dropped, making me lift my head from where I'd buried it in his shoulder, the emerald of his eyes now a dark stormy green.

_Baby._

"Bella…I…" His eyes went from mine, to my lips and back again.

Before he could finish, my fingers dug into his hair, pulling him to me, stopping him from uttering another word. Our mouths met as if starving, almost as if to temper any further unnecessary dialogue. Our tongues said everything that needed to be said, as he laid me softly back onto the bed, moving over me, pulling me on top of him as he went. Our bodies couldn't be close enough, our hands couldn't touch enough, our tongues couldn't get enough of the other. Whatever was happening, between my legs, inside my head, and somewhere between the two, it didn't matter, because I knew he meant it, that he would never go anywhere, as long as Assper was out there. Somewhere.

Whatever he had been about to say, he didn't need to say it, and I was suddenly overcome with a new fear.

I suddenly lifted my lips from his. "Edward…" studying his face, my fingers coming up to touch what my eyes took in. "I don't…I'm…" I didn't know how to say it, to verbalize it, and even thinking it made me even more frightened than I already was. As if suddenly realizing I was only in my underwear, a shiver went through me, Edward's hand reaching down for the duvet and covering me almost instantaneously.

I laid my head back down on his chest, his body heat warming me. I wanted to say the words, wanted to tell him what I had been, and what I still was, but they wouldn't come out.

"I know you're scared, Bella. You don't want to admit it, but you don't have to. I can feel it in every ounce of you that's touching me right now."

My sudden flinch and quick intake of breath was affirmation enough.

Damn. What was he, reading my mind?

I closed my eyes, the softness of his shirt underneath my cheek, until I felt his hand softly run up and cover mine that was still lying on his collar bone. Gently wrapping his fingers around it, he lifted it brushing his lips across my palm, making me once again find those Emerald beacons as I lifted my head.

"Nothing will happen to you, Bella. I won't let it."

Staring back at him, the notion that plagued me began to chisel away at the cold hard shell that had taken so long to build, fortify, render impenetrable. Those FuckMe Emeralds, the hair that begged for my fingers, those infinitely kissable lips, my eyes roamed over each as I began to conceive what was once inconceivable. I couldn't make it stop, make it go away, and found myself fearing it more than anything Jasper could ever do to me.

"But what if…" I hesitated, slowly hiding my expression once again in his chest. Every muscle in my body was as taut as a bow string. Again, I couldn't say it. It was there, on the tip of my tongue - the same one that had just been wrapped around Edward's, just as my body now was.

"But what?" He prodded.

My hand still in his, I squeezed his fingertips tight, remembering suddenly that night on the boat where in the midst of the most incredible fuck ever, I'd uttered his name. That night, and all the days and nights since that fateful one where Jasper had nearly…

I didn't give a fuck if he felt guilty.

I didn't give a fuck if it was some semblance of misplaced chivalry.

I didn't give a fuck if it was just because_ I_ was _his_ fuck of the century.

Because somewhere down deep, I knew it was more than that. More than I could understand, explain, or fathom even, and the thought of losing it gave me the stones to voice what now scared the shit out of me.

"What if something happens to _you_." It was so soft, so low, I thought maybe he didn't hear me.

His chest rose swiftly and then lowered, my head lifting and falling with it, neither of us saying another word.

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

_**On Edward's stereo – Barber: Violin Concerto, Op. 14: II. Andante**_

Fuck, I couldn't sit anymore. Throwing my laptop to the side of me on the couch, I made my way over to the windows to stare out at the beautiful Saturday summer evening that was the city. An evening I should be out in, enjoying, strolling along the lakefront with the rest of Chicago. Hell, I'd even go on the fucking Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier if it meant I could get out of here.

It was the kind of night Jasper and I would've fucked in some corner behind the Planetarium, or a recessed doorway in an alley or…

_Jesus, Bella, do NOT go there._

My hand pressed against the cool glass of the window.

Earlier, I'd left the comfort of Edward's arms and bed for his shower, needing the rush of steaming hot water over my skin to rid the tension, to wash away what had been a morning of what seemed like one catastrophe after another, one revelation after another, one giant fuckton of bullshit dropped squarely and permanently on my shoulders. I'd already showered that morning before heading into the office, but it didn't matter. I needed alone time, me time, and somehow I think Edward knew it. He'd wisely left me alone after that. It was obvious we weren't going back to the office, and even if I'd wanted to, I was sure Edward would handcuff me to a bedpost before I could escape.

_So damn tempting._

Then, while drying my hair, I began devising a plan to get Edward in the very same cuffs that had been around my wrists in his _guest _room.

_Even more tempting._

But after various scenarios and run-throughs, I _knew_ he'd see it coming - see _me_ coming – a double entendre unfulfilled.

Walking out of the bedroom in the shortest of black shorts and a white tank, along with a lovely deep blue bra and matching wisp of a thong I didn't buy, he didn't even glance up as I found my briefcase and pulled out my laptop, but my see-through tank was a clue we weren't leaving this place today. He was already at his desk, some classical music I'd never heard wafting from his stereo. Haunting, yet relaxing at the same time, it wasn't something I would expect from him, so I snuck a glance at the stereo, the CD case lying on top.

_Enigmaward exists. At least I have that to comfort me._

It was only after a half hour that he asked me how I was, and I gave him the requisite "Better", conveniently not mentioning I still felt tired and a tad hungover.

So there we were, two peas in a prison – Edward at his desk, me on the couch. After a while, he offered to make sandwiches, but I couldn't even think about food let alone eat it, so I begrudgingly accepted a cup of tea and toast once again, which he brought to me.

_I could get used to that. _

After checking and responding to all of my email, I tried to concentrate on my notes and outlines for the days ahead, each day's presentations, but I couldn't help thinking…

My damn office, and the white box that had been in it.

Or Rose's interrogation.

Or the return of Gargantupuke.

Or the nightmare that had been Jasper's hand on my throat.

Each scene on a loop as I stared at my computer screen, interrupting my already fucked concentration as I tried to headfake Edward into thinking I was unaffected. But their prevalence had nothing on the reoccurrence of what had happened just a few hours ago.

The damn nightmare, hurling myself into Edward's arms, the slow realization that I might actually be terrified that something might happen to him.

My stomach gurgled as if getting a signal from my head.

Finally being able to acknowledge fear for myself was one thing, but now feeling…_helpless_ – the word was like shit on my tongue – about Edward was a complete mindfuck. Saying the L word in the midst of an intense orgasm was one thing, and that's if I even said it. Struggling with the concept that I actually gave a damn, really _gave_ a damn, about him…about what Assper could do to him…was another thing altogether.

I didn't like it.

No.

I fucking_ hated_ it.

He had yet to call in the police, relying on Emmett and his guys, and I wasn't sure if that was such a good idea anymore. Of course, I understood why. God forbid they find out about the club, or Emmett, or any of that. Although from my vantage point on the couch, I knew he wasn't even remotely working on anything from the office. I couldn't remember seeing him like this before, beyond intense, even that day in his office when Assper had nearly walked in on us. I would've bet good money he was researching something, most likely trying to find a link between Jasper and whoever was helping the asshole, and my inner Nancy Drew poked her plaid-wearing, loafer sportin' self to attention. File folders flew out of drawers, were opened, riffled through, and then put back in. I wouldn't think twice about sneaking a glance if they had been left on his desk, but unlike Nancy, I wasn't going to even attempt to open a drawer.

So I pretended to work, just as he did, until I started going over it all, once again wracking my brain for the idiot in the office, anyone Assper might have looked twice at, anyone who made fucking googly eyes at him. Every assistant, every short skirt that I could imagine that was even remotely contemplating a move up the corporate ladder. Any and all of the usual suspects who may have had his dick when I didn't.

The _fuck_ was I thinking? There was _no_ one he wanted more than me, no one that even came close.

Was there?

Was it even…a _woman_?

_Whoa._

Did Jasper have back door issues? Was he a top or a bottom?

Definitely a bottom.

_Christ, this is getting me nowhere._

Now, gazing out the window, trying to get a handle on my off-the-charts anxiety, beyond irritated, not even going to attempt a drop of alcohol, I was…

Cornered.

Yes, that was the word. Cornered and caged just like half of me knew I would be, the other half a complete psychotic mess over whatever was happening between me and Edward. Was it love? Fuck if I knew. Would he call it that if I asked him? Wasn't even going there.

_Breathe, Bella. Breathe._

"What is it?" Quick, direct, to the point. I may have flinched.

_Damn it to hell._

"Nothing." I tried to mimic him.

"Bella, you've never been overly forthcoming, but give me some credit here."

I raised my other hand to the glass, pressing into it, not giving a shit if he flipped _his_ shit over the fingerprints. _Hire a goddamn maid._

"Don't worry about it." I muttered back, suddenly feeling exhausted. No, beyond that, and I couldn't think of a word that worked. Somebody needed to invent that word.

I let my head fall against the cool glass, my eyelids like lead even though I'd just slept for a gazillion hours. I couldn't tell him I just want this to be over, that I wanted my life back. That a part of me yearned for, needed what I had at Heaven, but it wasn't even that. I wasn't about to go all in, or more so than I'd already had, until he showed his cards, and he had yet to even raise me.

"You need to eat something, if you can."

The mention of food suddenly made me want to storm some cheap buffet and effectively quashed thoughts of anything else.

"Chinese." For some reason, it sounded absolutely mouthwatering. "Moo Shoo Pork."

When I didn't hear a reply, I turned to him. "What?"

It was as if I had a big bloodshot eye right in the middle of my forehead.

"Nothing." Oh, so now it was _his_ turn.

The staredown lasted for all of 5 seconds, Edward finally relenting to make the call to order takeout.

One chicken fried rice, one chicken and green beans, two egg rolls, aforementioned Moo Shoo Pork, a rather pricey Cab from Edward's collection of which I _barely_ had one glass, and complete silence later, I sat back in my chair, looking down at my stuffed pooch.

"Feeling better?" He looked at me, a piece of chicken in his chopsticks. I'd gone from my gut, to staring at his mouth, those lips…

Patting my now full tummy, I simply nodded giving him a soft smile that I knew wouldn't fool him and started gathering up my plate and a few empty containers to clear the table. The walk away from him and his gaze my number one priority. Sitting across from him, shoveling Chinese food into my mouth hadn't helped me decipher what the hell was in his head. I knew he was only trying to keep me safe by keeping me here, but I couldn't get rid of the feeling of being trapped. For about fifteen minutes, I actually considered his request to cooperate, just like he wanted, but the solitary confinement was starting to wear. That on top of this feeling that I'd said too much, lost my edge, and my frustration grew.

So I did the only thing I could do – started to clean. Taking the path to and from the table with containers, loading dishes into his dishwasher, all while avoiding any eye contact. Cleaning had always been one of my outlets, and since I didn't know where he kept his furniture polish, rubber gloves, or even bathroom cleaner, I made do with what I had.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?"

"Stop."

"No." I squatted down to rummage under his sink to not only look for anything to lengthen my quest, but to keep from catching those FuckMe Emeralds I knew now blazed a dark forest green. The scrape of his chair across the floor made me freeze for a split second, but I didn't look up, until I heard him approach behind me.

His feet were now just to the left of me, but I kept right on pilfering his cleaning products stash, ignoring him, until his fingers squeezed my upper arm, and I was being forcefully pulled to my feet.

The memory of his grip on my arm in his office flashed.

"Wha-"

Cut off by his rough tug on my arm, he pulled me behind him, his fingers digging into my skin, dragging me out of the kitchen and down the hall.

"Let go of me." I tried to wrench my arm from him but his hand was too tight, my feet scurrying to keep up with him.

He didn't say a word as he threw open the guest room door and me in right after it, pushing me toward the foot of the bed, finally letting me go to walk over to the dresser. Reeling at the manhandling, I wasn't sure if I was more excited or panicked. We were in _the_ room. Edward's room.

My inner thighs began to ache.

"What are you-"

"Shut up." He nearly growled, opening one drawer, then another. "Here." Something came flying back at me, Edward not even looking back as I caught it.

Handcuffs.

Real, metal, honest to goodness ones. No fluffy cushion, no leather, the kind the cops used. I couldn't help but take a deep breath.

_Holy shit._

I glanced up just in time to see him turn around, his eyelids half-closed, the shadow of his cheekbones fierce, his mouth rigid, and in his hand…

A cane. Bamboo from the looks of it.

He couldn't possibly be thinking…

I glanced down at the cuffs in my hands, back at the cane and then back up into those stormy Emeralds that had nearly gone black. Frozen at the foot of the bed, my tits lifted up and down so fast even I could see them as my breathing quickened.

I nearly rubbed my ass in alarmed anticipation.

"Do I have to show you how to use them?" He took the three or four strides across the room to tower over me, throwing the cane on the bed as he did, grabbing the cuffs from my hands. His empty hand suddenly went over his head, pulling his t-shirt off. Then it worked the button and zipper on his shorts, left only in gray boxer briefs, his dick already at attention.

_What the fuck? What is he...?_

"Do it, Bella." He said through pursed lips as he cuffed one wrist and brought them around to his back, turning around so I could finish the other. His bare back, the ripple of muscle after muscle screaming for my fingernails.

He wanted _me_ to…_him_? "Edward, no-"

"DO IT!"

I reacted instantly, instinctually, obeying his command and taking the empty cuff with my hand as if it were detached from me, belonging solely to his whim, slamming it on his other wrist. He turned to face me without me saying a word, without prompting, as I stood shellshocked staring at his abs. I felt myself being transported back, back, my history fighting with my present as my eyes trailed a path from his abs up the middle of his chest afraid of what I would find if I went any higher. But when I saw his chin lower, his eyes to the floor, it was Yours and the first time he stood in front of me, all skin, black silk and black mask, dick at just past half-mast. My tongue reflexively ran over my bottom lip, as my eyes drank in every inch of him.

Then it hit me. He was doing this for me, because somehow, someway he knew it was what I needed.

"You're…you're beautiful." It escaped my lips before I even knew I'd said it, and his chin pulled up almost infinitesimally.

Everything that had been that first time, all of the things I'd wanted to do to him, to kiss those infinitely kissable lips, to hold that magnificent cock in the palm of my hand, to wield over him what I thought he wanted…what _I_ so desperately needed.

My hand flew from my side, my fingers seeking and tugging at the waistband of what I'd wanted to rid him of that first time. Pushing the material down his thighs, seeing his cock spring free, my hand running up and down his length just as it had wanted to do from the first time I'd seen it stretch against silk.

As if waking from a long nap, the lioness lifted her head.

Reaching down to massage his balls noticing his quick inhale when I did, I led my hand once again up him, my fingers wrapping around him stroking until I let go to roam the firm skin of his abs. My fingernails trailed as I walked around him, grabbing the cane off the bed with my other hand, feeling the tensing of his ass as my nails scratched over his skin.

The Queen returned from exile.

"Bend over." The humming between my legs nearly drowned out my words as I tore my tank over my head and dropped my shorts, flinging them in front of him so that he would know I only wore the demi bra and thong he'd laid out on the bed for me that morning. The expectation and excitement built as I slapped the cane back and forth between his thighs to get him to spread his legs. I watched the muscle of his quads tighten, his feet move apart obediently, as his head lowered slowly bending forward. I paused for a moment to take in how absolutely perfect his ass was, until the cane in my hand sprung, the glance soft by my standards, but enough to leave a beautiful pinking streak on his right ass cheek. He didn't move a muscle, until I leaned down to slowly touch my tongue to his skin, running it over the mark I'd just left, feeling him shudder as I did. The sound of his inhale made me take a step back and look at him again.

Yours.

Edward.

_Mine._

The words came out of nowhere, like slingshot pellets into my brain. The cane slipped from my fingers, cracking against the wood floor.

_What the hell…?_

His head twisted around, his hips shifting, and the movement caused me to glance up to see his brow furrowed, questioning. My eyes left his to roam once again over his body, my foot sliding back of its own volition.

"Bring me the key, Bella." I saw his lips move out the corner of my eye, what came from them only half registering.

My other foot slid back another step. I didn't know why. It was another out of body experience, but this time I was even more disconnected, my head feeling like it was detached from the rest of me. My fingers flexed, wanting to feel the cool wood of the cane and strike once again, my mind in two halves, my leading foot on the verge of stepping into a black hole.

_Yes…No…Yes…No… _

"On top of the dresser. Get it and bring it to me. Now."

"_I wanted to know the businesswoman and the woman in the bedroom, because the King needs his Queen."_

"_I feel very protective of you."_

"_Nothing will happen to you, Bella. I won't let it."_

The sound bites went off in my mind without warning. For a moment, my head went side to side, hearing, remembering, my eyes focusing on the now reddening mark across that beautiful ass that was...

"_Bella you are so fucking beautiful like that." _

"_Mine!" _

"Bella! Get me the KEY!" His voice was like a kettledrum, the words like mallets struck. My hand whipped behind me as my feet moved backwards, running into the dresser, snatching the key from the top of it, squeezing it in my hand. He was standing upright now, half turned toward me.

"_What…do…you…want…Bella?"_

My eyes found his, the Emerald homing beacons calling me, urging me forward. The steps back to him were in slow motion, yards and yards in front of me, but my feet moved, one in front of the other, until I stood next to him, tearing my eyes from his to see his hands and the cuffs around them.

"Unlock them, Bella. Put the key in and turn." I did as he asked, putting the key in the lock, turning, watching my hands taking one cuff off, then the other as if I were watching someone else do it. Other hands, other fingers…

"God_dammit_, Bella." Edward breathed out, his hands suddenly on my hips spinning into his arms before I knew it, his one hand on my ass, the other at the back of my neck. My body nearly limp in his arms.

"Speak, dammit. Say…something…_fuck_." His mouth came crashing down on mine, my own arms dangling like dead fish at my sides. Unable to think why or how or anything of substance, my lips obeyed his insistence, his tongue forcing its way in, clutching me so tightly to him I could hardly breathe.

_I want you._

The words like a whispershout.

_Oh Edward, I want you._

Holy Sleeping fucking Beauty.

My hand skimmed up the flexing muscles on his arm finding renewed strength, landing on that gorgeous chiseled jaw, pouring myself into the kiss, into him, my tongue now as violent as his.

Gasping, his lips left mine suddenly flinging me around, my ass to his dick as he pulled me to the bed. Sitting down, he threw me over his thighs like I was a doll, my tits crashing into the top of his thighs, the air rushing out of me in a whoosh.

"Ed-" Was all I could get out when suddenly his palm was on my right ass cheek. Only a slight hesitation, a groan from deep within his chest, punctuated by a lightening-quick smack on my ass.

"Unh!" I couldn't help the scream escaping me, my mind and body lost in a whirling vortex.

"Say it." His breaths were rough, ragged, rubbing my ass with his hand, his fingers tortuously light, caressing.

"O-one." I shuddered out, digging deep to dredge up long forgotten training, my tightening abdomen pressed against his other thigh, my insides clenching on cue.

Another smack hit my other ass cheek, the sting from it going right to that spot inside me. "No, Bella! SAY it!"

Say? Say…what? I nearly moaned out loud, not understanding, my head falling down in complete futility, my hand clutching his calf.

"Fuck!" He yelled as he flung his arm around my waist, heaving me around and up until I was standing, my legs like rubber, propped against him and his hand on my lower back. I could hardly focus, my eyes blinking, my mind spinning. I didn't know what he wanted. I didn't know what _I_ wanted.

I didn'tknow anything except for the sweet throbbing torture, my pussy wet, burning, craving him and sweet, sweet release.

His fingers jerked my chin up, demanding my attention. His eyes searched mine, pushing me back with his body as I barely felt my feet hitting the floor, moving backwards, looking up into…blinking once again to push back my body's demands, nearly coming as I met his stare.

"Do you even _know_ what you do to me?" He groaned, grabbing the edge of my thong, ripping the fine lace as if it were tissue, as my back hit something hard. The wall near the door.

_Tell me._

"I know you feel it. _I_ feel it." The tip of his dick was against my clit, his hand guiding it, rubbing it against me, as he sunk lower, my thighs automatically spreading further for him. "They're just…words, Bella."

My calf slid up over his, my knee bending, my thigh crossing his until my leg was around him.

_Show me._

My hips tilted up to him trying to tell him what I was incapable of uttering, speaking - that magnificent cock inside me, _him_ inside me. In a haze, my eyes once again traveled over his lips barely able to meet his eyes, until I felt the tip of his dick tease exactly where I wanted him.

My lips parted, sucking in air, as he slid that perfect cock into me tortuously slow. Hearing my own moan as he went further and further, filling me, until his hands were on my ass, lifting me, nearly pulling back out slightly only to thrust in again, so hard my back banged against the door.

"Fuck…me..." I finally heard myself say. "Ed…ward. Just-" Another withdrawal, followed by a deeper thrust and a moan from deep inside his chest.

"_Feel_ it, Bella. Feel…_meee_," he grunted again, ramming me faster, harder, my back punishing the wall behind it.

"Y-yesss." There would never be another fuck for me like him. There would never be anyone who knew what to do, what toy to use, what button to push.

Except him.

Driving in me once more, my head went back, giving in, feeling him, my body his, my mind his, my soul…

His.

"I want…_you_, Bella." Thrust.

"_Only…_you." Pound.

"Yesss. Yesss." I panted, feeling my muscles squeezing around him almost painfully, blissfully, trying to hold on. My fingers dug into the skin on his shoulders, his back.

Until I couldn't hold on anymore.

"Eddww…" The rest of his name was lost, the cry from my lips beyond description, as I came like I'd never come before, even with him. My body seized and rolled with every wave, my hands wrapping around his neck, clutching. The sounds coming from me like nothing I'd ever heard before. The muscles in my neck gave way, my head dropping to his shoulder as he grunted one final time, pinning me with such force my head bounced up and dropped again.

"Bell…laah…"

All the delicious warmth that was him spilled inside me, a long, low moan punctuating his last plunge into me, every muscle in his body shaking, as he held me against the wall.

"Ed…" I barely whispered through gasps for air.

As if knowing I couldn't hold onto him for much longer, he gathered me up still inside me, walking to the bed, laying me back as he pulled out.

_No, don't…_

I reached up my hand to take his, pulling it and him with it, winding myself around him as he laid back. His heart was still racing just as mine was, our bodies hot and wet with sweat, the smell of us still lingering. I was obliterated and alive all at the same time, my body singing and sore, my brain fried and yet oh so…

Free.

Those lips, I needed them again as I wiggled my way back to them, taking them, owning them and his tongue. Until I needed to find air, our tongues continuing to touch, lick, suck, not with the force or demand of what had been, but slowly, effortlessly until it became soft kisses, lips brushing lips.

I broke away to find my FuckMe Emeralds had returned. Sitting up to straddle his waist, my hands resting just under his shoulders, I scrutinized every shade of green, every nuance of his face making up the passion I saw. The darkness gone replaced by something I couldn't put my finger on, something that kept me riveted, something that made my chest tighten, as his hands slowly crept up my back to pull me down, his fingers caressing the back of my head.

I let him guide me, laying my head back down, not knowing if it was love, or just the fuckawesome fuck, but suddenly I didn't care. To me, now, they were one in the same, and lying underneath me.

"You scared the shit out of me." He finally breathed.

"Ditto." I mumbled.

"Don't do it again."

"I'll work on it."

* * *

**A/N:**

Hope you liked reading it as much as I liked writing it. *sighs*

Let me know what you thought of this one, if you would. I'm anxious to know.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:**

I didn't want to blather on here, but I really do need to thank all of you for leaving the awesome reviews. I know I've been complete fail at responding lately only because I'm devoting every spare minute to writing and get this sucker finished. Just know that all of your hilarious comments and feedback do wonders for me, and I truly do appreciate each and every one. Thanks again.

To my Pufferfish, HammerHips, a very SPESHUL smoochie to you. You know why. Also to AlexisDanaan, for letting me rock her shower. Muwahaha.

* * *

**Chapter 10**

Tunes for this chapter:

Falling Slowly – Glen Hanson and Marketa Irglova

All That I Am – Rob Thomas

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"_I don't know you, but I want you all the more for that…"_

My eyelids puckered and squeezed, not wanting to open. Shoving my hands under the pillow, my brain chanted, _More sleep, need more, just a little bit…_

"_And games that never amount, to more than they're meant will play themselves out."_

Music.

My body felt like a giant slab of lead, every tendon aching as I rolled onto my back, my arm flapping across the bed, my eyes refusing to open.

_Where am I?..._

Edward's. His guestroom.

Yes, that was music coming…from somewhere. Sweet, haunting, sad. Not something _I _usually listened to.

"_Take this sinking boat and point it home, we've still got time…"_

"Errrrph," Moaning out loud, my fingers splaying out as I stretched every protesting muscle to the limit, visions of last night suddenly flashing in my head, my hand suddenly reacting, reaching, patting the mattress – no, more like pounding it - until I realized he wasn't there, more lyrics wafting in.

"_Well you have suffered enough, and warred with yourself. It's time that you won."_

Edward.

Cuffs. Smacks. Wall.

Fuck…_me_.

_What the fuck is he listening to? _ _What the fuck time is it?_ Remembering the kingdom of Edward had no clock in this room, I slithered my legs over the edge of the mattress and dropped my feet to the floor.

"Shit." My hand stretched for safe harbor, grabbing the mattress behind me, my legs wobbly, my head spinning faster than Mercury on acid. "Steady there, girl." Man, whatever bug I had…

_Was_ it a bug, or was it…

Last night?

I plopped my ass back on the bed, as the thought whizzed through my head quicker than the Millenium Falcon in hyperdrive.

_I want you._

Oh shit.

I had wanted him. _Want_ him. More than I ever knew before, more than I'd ever knew it was possible to want someone else, solely, completely.

But it was what he had said, spoken aloud, that now came to the forefront, banging in my head like old-fashioned church bells, accompanied by the memory of two very forceful rams of his cock.

"_I want…_you_, Bella."_

"Only_…you." _

Geezofuckingpeet.

My fingers drew a path down the part of my hair, ripping through it as if the answer to all were hidden somewhere in my roots.

Edward. _What the fuck are you doing? What the fuck am I doing? What the fuck are _we_ doing…?_

Son of cocksucking whore, I didn't need this. I didn't need any of it. How had I ended up here? How had I…?

"_I don't like games, Bella. Plain and simple. I know you're the master. But know this. Don't ever play them with me." _

Even that very first day, our very first meeting, I had felt it. The way he held himself – confidence oozing, power dripping. The way he spoke – commandingly, assuredly. The way those FuckMe Emeralds had seared into my soul.

I'd felt it.

I felt it _now_.

I didn't need protection, yet I craved the safety of his arms, his body against mine. I didn't need love, or even know anything about it frankly, yet I wanted him to say it.

"_No, Bella! SAY it!"_

Was that what he…?

_Why did he want me to say it? Why couldn't _he_ say it? What was he holding back? And why?_

"Fuuuck." I whispered to the air, dropping my head, my eyes shutting out everything. I needed to be on, _spot _on, for the next week, and I didn't have time for whatever this was. Not now. Next week was the bi-pinnacle of the year, the only other more important meeting the NSM in January. I couldn't be distracted, my head needed to be in the game, the whole game, at least until noon next Saturday when sessions ended. At the Ball that night I could let it go, most likely get schnockered, and Edward and I could fuck like minx, no ice-pick underneath _my_ side of the bed.

Getting up on my feet again, I took such a deep breath my tits nearly hurt. No dizziness, no time for over-analytical Bella to come out of the closet where she would effectively be for the rest of the week. Edward and I would just be…bunkmates. I'd slept with other men before, just sleeping, I could do it again.

_Yeah, but it's Edward. You know how you get when stress sets in._

"Oh, shut the hell up. A good stressfuck never hurt anyone," I mumbled to whatever voice was in my head. Bitch should be put down.

Looking around for something to put on, I snatched up Edward's t-shirt from where it still laid from last night on the floor. Pulling up the crew neckline to my nose with both hands, I took a deep whiff.

"Mmmm," I sniffed, thinking what a masochist I was, but damn he smelled good.

_What was that a few minutes ago? The part about not being distracted? _

"Ugh!"

I walked out of the bedroom and down the hall sure that my face held the bitchscowl I was feeling.

"Morning." I grumbled walking into the kitchen, getting my own coffee.

"Well, look who's decided to awaken from repose on the downside of morning."

"Why, what time…" The clock on Edward's microwave read 10:47. Holy hell, I'd slept like the dead. Probably looked like the undead. Change of subject - redirect absolutely necessary.

"Edward, just what is this shit you're listening to, and why?" I knew I was about to take my mood out on him. I didn't want to, I really didn't, but…

"Just my iPod."

"Yeah, but this…this doesn't seem like your…_type_." According to him, I was his type, and she and this crap didn't tango.

"I enjoy many types of music, Bella. Some more than others, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate a good tune or exquisite lyric from just about anywhere."

"Tell me you have country and I walk." I barked back, leaning against the counter.

"That would imply you were staying." His grin was sex and smug all rolled up into one giant mortar launcher that shot, landed, and exploded right between my legs.

_Bastard._

I turned in time to hide the roll of my eyes, setting down my coffee and heading for the shower.

"Just because I can't see your eyes doesn't mean your reaction escaped my noticed." His slightly raised voice clarified.

"Whatever, Eddie," I yelled back, strutting to his bathroom and his oversized shower. Shutting the door behind me, I lifted the lid of the toilet and did my business while still grumbling, the bottom of Edward's shirt catching my attention as I flushed.

"Hmmph!" Grabbing the hem of his shirt, I pulled it over my head with the same ferocity I wished to snap it against his ass, throwing it to the floor. Stomping on it crossed my mind.

Sliding open the glass door, I turned the lever to just this side of scalding, when words from whatever tune was on the stereo hit me.

_I am the sound of love's arriving  
Echoed softly on the sand  
Lay your head upon my shoulder  
Lay your hand within my hand  
I give you all that I am_

The shiver that went through me I blamed on the sub-zero temperature at which Edward kept this place. I stepped back, catching my reflection in the mirror. As I leaned in even closer, my fingertips couldn't help but pad across the dark circles were underneath my eyes, as I uttered "Break out the heavy-duty shit." I'd have to add mega concealer to my "absolutely necessary" list to pack. Turning around, I took a quick inventory of my back, the light pink marks of Assper's persistence still haunted my skin, accompanied by new bruises – around my shoulder blades and near my hip and the peaks of my ass.

_His_ marks.

I almost wished they wouldn't fade.

Sneaking my hand under the water to test first, I stepped in, the bathroom already filling up with steam, the hot water pouring over my head. There were other levers, which made me wonder if he had some other jets. Sure enough after a brief scan of the tile, I noticed small holes.

The man had everything.

The sliding of the shower door had me jumping back nearly to the furthest wall.

"It me." His voice was like silk, his one hand reaching for my hip, the other putting a bottle of something up in the shower caddy, as he stepped in under the water pulling me to him. "I didn't want the morning starting off with the both of us fighting over musical tastes." His lips pressed on the edge my ear, skimming lightly as he spoke, his hands roaming over my stomach, his hips swaying behind me, his dick not unnoticed against my spine. "You don't mind if I join you, do you? Something just arrived for you. I…wanted to let you know."

My head turned slightly, the intention to look back at him with some smartass reply, but I only made it half way, my eyelids falling, shaking my head half-ass as it fell back against his chest. His hands were like my own private loofah, sliding softly, massaging gently, the residual splash of the water from where it hit his head and back like a trickling waterfall on my shoulders. As his hands came up to cup my tits, fingers circling and then pulling my nipples, his teeth running over the ball of my shoulder on their way to that traitorous tender spot, my neck tilted compliantly to the side as if disconnected from my brain, savoring the seductive licking and sucking he subjected her to. I was but clay in his hands, hot molten glass at the end of his pipe.

And I didn't care.

Turning us both, my eyes half-opened to see the shower wall. "Bend over," he only half-whispered, one hand that had been around me now nudging the back of my neck, the other holding tightly around my waist, his cock rock hard sliding down in between my ass cheeks.

_Yes, fuck me, Edward. Fuck me in this shower._ Raising my palms against the wall, the corners of my mouth gave me away, turning up as I pushed my ass toward him.

"Good…girl." His growl was like little plucks on my clit, running his cock along my slit so slow, my insides hummin' like a Harley.

"I want all of you, Bella. _All_ of you." His fingers caressed over my shoulder blades and down my spine. "I want you so tight around my dick you never let go."

It took me a second to register, as his dick suddenly disappeared from between my legs. Sweet, sweet baby J.

"Take it, Edward." I nodded, twisting my neck, my eyes finding his. "Fucking _take_ it." The words were part moan, part exhale, as I slid my hands further down the wall, spreading my feet apart on the tile, my thighs open and ready for him, eyes focused on the tile at my feet. He didn't need to know it had only been taken twice before. Taking a deep breath, I squeezed my eyes shut at the memory. That part of me was long gone.

Suddenly his hand was cupping between my legs, his fingers running up and down the length of me, something on them, hopefully lube. I couldn't help but tense, even though I knew I wanted it, wanted him.

"Relax, Bella." He whispered, his chest sliding up my back, his hard nipples scraping as he went, until his lips brushed my cheek, my mouth immediately turning, searching to find his as a finger circled the tender rim of my ass.

"Mmmm." I moaned softly against his tongue, my necked stretched to connect with his, as he slid his finger further in, my inner sanctum restricting at first, until he slowly moved it back and forth and in circles.

"That's it, baby." He breathed against my lips as another finger slid in, moving, stretching.

"Ed…" I sighed as my lips parted, his tongue flicking around mine, and then around my lips, both top and bottom soothingly sucked.

I willed my body to relax, dropping my head as his lips left me for just a moment, his dick once again sliding against my clit. All of a sudden the water stopped, but then started again, other jets, surrounding us, one hitting near my pelvic bone, until he adjusted the spray. Softer, yet still hitting me in a spot that drove me wild, the water trickling down my thighs.

"You are perfect, just like this." I could hear the ache in his voice as I felt the tip of him tease, and then press in slightly. "Fucking…"sliding in further still, "…perfect."

Inhaling sharply, I let myself feel him, my ass clenching, then adjusting as he rocked back out a bit, and then pushed in more.

"_Fuck_." I muttered, my insides a whirl, my head even worse.

"_Do you know what you do to me, Bella?"_

"Yessss." I breathed out, lost in the timber of his words from last night. "I …mmmph" Biting down on my bottom lip. I knew he had the cock of the millennium, but…but…

Suddenly, his lips were on my back, peppering with kisses, tongue and teeth, his dick rocking ever so slowly . With each trip further, he stopped, raining kisses over my back, until his hand slid around my hip, down between my legs, his fingers searching, finding, stroking my clit in the rhythm of his rocking.

"You're so much…" he hissed through his teeth just on the back of my shoulder, "tighter…" his fingers circled my clit faster, as I concentrated on the feeling of him, my walls contracting around him, accepting, as his fingers worked their magic, my inner-thighs beginning to clench, my abdomen constricting upward, "like this."

His fingers suddenly went further. One, then two entering me as his palm pressed against my clit, his cock filling my ass like no one's before. The pressure of his fingers against my g-spot, his cock hitting parts of me relatively untouched, had me nearly euphoric, his other hand running down my arm to catch my bending elbow on the way to the wall engulfing mine.

It was gentle, yet intense, my body coiling in on itself with each thrust, my clit nearly at the breaking point with the pressure of his palm.

"Mmmm." He hummed against my shoulder. "I can feel every inch of you this way, clenching around my fingers, gripping my cock." His fingers pushed in further, curling up to press against me. "Let it go, Bella. Let me hear you." He panted.

I wasn't his to order around. I wasn't his to command. I wasn't…

"Nnnn…" I didn't want to come on his order. But as he worked his palm and fingers in an excruciatingly perfect crescendo, my body betraying every ounce of willpower I had, I caved.

"Edw-w…Unnnh!" It was like Vesuvius, Mt. St. Helens, and throw any other actively erupting volcano in for good measure. My body rocketed, my torso bending, my toes rising up off the floor with the force, the top of my head hitting the marble-tiled wall as I tried to stop the guttural scream that tore from me. Edward's fingers working me further, my thighs came together as my one hand came off the wall pushing at his hand, pushing it away as he continued torturing my clit.

Hoooly…" my hips rocked, "shhh…" I tried to breathe as the mega-waves rolled through me, Edward stilling his thrusts, my ass clenching around him, propping us both with his hand on the wall, cupping my pussy.

"Bell…" he breathed, as I felt him starting to slowly pull out, his hand gone from the wall, the only thing keeping me standing was his hand cupping me, propping us both. "Fuck, you're pulsating…I'm gonna…" moaning as he carefully slid all the way out, his dick on my lower back. "G-god, B-bell..a…"

Even through the warmth of the shower, I could feel his hot cum spurting over my skin, his grunts as I pictured his hand pumping himself, wanting to reach back, wanting to hold some part of him, but I could barely keep myself standing, my head bobbing, my insides still retracting, calming. Until his hand at my pussy slid up, twisting me around, both of his hands running up my arms to hold them over my head, his hands on my wrists, fingers intertwining with mine. Grinding his cock against my pussy and pelvic bone, his eyes narrowed in near ecstasy, his open mouth came crashing onto mine, both our heads tilting, our tongues driving against each other, breathing nearly impossible as noses pressed into cheeks.

"Bella…I…" His hands left mine to surround my jaw, my face. His eyes burned into mine, his body supporting mine against the wall as my hands dropped down it, reaching for his waist, sliding to his ass, gripping, squeezing, pulling it to me.

_No, No, NO!_

Dragging my lips from his, "Don't..." I breathed. "Don't…say it." Only to throw my lips to his once again, my fingernails scratching up his back to his shoulder blades until my fingers splayed clutching him to me, as I caught his moan in my mouth.

"Al…right," he panted against my lips, as his hands fell from my face, over my tits, and around to my lower back, sliding over my skin, water mixing with his cum, blanketing me with both, his lips and teeth trailing down my neck as his hot breath pummeled my skin. "As you wish… My Queen."

"Edward…" I whispered, my face burrowing into his neck as we held each other. I couldn't remember a time like it in my entire life. No point of reference, no idea of what was happening, but knowing in every bone, every nerve, every cell of my body that I could stay like that forever.

"They're…just words," I mumbled pressing my lips to his skin, repeating what he had said to me the night before.

He brought his face up, the FuckMe Emeralds glowing a fiery green as they stared into my own, nearly taking my breath away. "Just…" his lips planted a soft kiss on my nose, "words," another softly to my lips.

Popping his head back, his eyes roamed over my head, my face, and finally back to my own, darting back and for the between the two. "Now, let me wash your hair."

If it weren't for his arms around me, his hips still pinning me to the wall, I would've collapsed to the floor.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Edward…it's…it's…"

"Beautiful? Gorgeous? Perfect?" He laughed, throwing his arms around me from behind, tugging playfully at the towel I had around my torso until it fell to the floor.

"All…three." I stared transfixed, holding it up and out in front of me with one hand, the other pulling slightly at the side seam to see it all. It had a deeply v'd front I wasn't too sure about, but after thinking it over for all of two seconds…

_What the fuck do I care. I'm fucking the Vice President. _

I couldn't help but giggle.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing." I pulled away from him to hold it up to me in the mirror.

"Try it on. Emmett even picked up the mask. The boy is like a bloodhound when given proper direction." Edward laughed as he sprawled out on the bed, one bent elbow and hand propping up his head.

"I'll have to get-"

"Taken care of." My eyes caught reflection of something very small, very lacy, dangling from Edward's fingers, and the Cheshire cat grin he was wearing on his face. "You also have an appointment at 1pm today at my favorite spa, the full treatment, whatever you wish. I'll be joining you."

Yes, the garden did need a mowing. I nearly laughed again. "You will?"

"Yes, manly grooming ritual. Ancient Thai practices. You know."

The man was chock full of surprises.

"Besides, you aren't going anywhere without me, at least until I know where you are, Emmett is with you, you're surrounded by people and in a luxurious hotel."

Sauntering over to him, only a towel around my hair, I threw the dress over the pillow and crawled over to him on my knees, snatching the thong from his fingers, stretching what there was of it between my hands.

"You're gonna get me fired, Mr. Cullen," I all but purred, slinging the thong at his face, as I threw a thigh over him, slowly rocking my now very clean, but ever-dampening pussy against his abs.

The corners of his mouth curled even more, as he unceremoniously removed what material there was from his face. "Nah. I hear you're fucking the VP. He told me he's keeping you on the payroll."

"Did he now?" Grinding into him even harder, my wry smile forming, until my body was flying to the bed, Edward's arm wrapped around me, his lips hungry, his tongue determined, and my own just as much.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Edward and I returned from our mutual pampering sessions plucked, groomed and in the case of me, mani'd and pedi'd. I didn't ask about his ritual, but I found out it included a deep tissue massage and manicure.

_Such a metro._

We spent the better part of the late afternoon packing, Edward having suitcases for both of us, with me trying to figure out just how Emmett had even remotely known what to have brought over. Boxes had been delivered right as I had been getting into the shower, and I inspected everything as I brought out suit after suit, accompanying cami's and blouses, everything I would've packed for myself for the following week, including shoes.

"Edward, shoes, for the-"

"He saw the dress and threw a few pair in there, whichever ones will work. Bella, no one will be paying attention to your shoes in that dress."

Good solid point.

My favorite pair of black, strappy Jimmy's were at the bottom. All problems solved.

I sat back on my heels, wallowing in wonderment at it all, suddenly mesmerized by Edward's movements as he pulled suits, shirts, and ties from his closet, underwear from his chest-of-drawers, and packed like the meticulously anal control freak I knew him to be.

_My_ meticulously anal control freak.

As my mind drifted to this morning's shower, I couldn't help but grin.

The sound of keys and the door to Edward's condo opening had my head whipping, eyes finding his, and Edward throwing down what was in his hands and heading to the bedroom door.

"Bro? It's me." Christ, it was Emmett.

"Good thing it wasn't this morning." Edward chuckled as he went to the doorway. "In here, Emmett."

Suddenly a head appeared around the corner. "Hey, Bells."

"Hey, Em." I said as I stood up. "What brings you over?"

"I thought I'd see if you both want to get out of here. Maybe go for a bite to eat? Rose actually suggested it."

My eyes met Edward's, which had already lasered in on my own. "Em, I don't know-"

"She's…we're…it was her idea, Bells. She really wants to get past…the other night…and well…things. Meet her halfway? For me?"

The whole time Emmett was talking, Edward's gaze held mine, his face the epitome of expressionless. No forehead-rubbing, no hand-through-fuckhot-bedhair, tell to give me any idea of how he felt about the situation. Hell, I didn't know how I felt about it. Could I sit casually with, have dinner with, conversationalize normally with a girl I'd been fucking with just a month ago? I glanced at Emmett, his goofy smile fading the longer I took to respond, his glance at Edward unnoticed by him, only by me.

Finally Edward broke, his hand going behind his neck to rub as if it were stiff.

_Well, that's new._

"Sure Em. I need to get out of this place, if only for a few hours."

"Emmett, give me a few minutes with Bella. Go grab yourself a beer, and tell Rose we'll call her on our way to pick her up."

"Yup." Emmett's face disappeared from the doorway just as Edward closed it.

"You really must want to get out of here." Edward half-grinned, walking toward me, tugging under my chin for me to look at him, before winding his hand to the nape of my neck, his fingers cradling. "I'm fine with it if you are." He smiled down at me, pressing his lips to my forehead.

"Yes, I do, and yes I am." I gazed up at him determined. "Edward, what she and I had…what we…" I spun on my heel, until his hand was around my arm, pulling me back.

"Just words, Bella." His hand slid down my arm to take mine. "C'mon, you must be starving, because I am," and proceeded to give me that devastating, drop to my knees, smile.

I'd be damned if he thought I would give him the satisfaction of agreeing with him, and started to walk past him, pulling his hand. "Well, this ought to be interesting."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

As one of my editors, Jeff, Rose, and Emmett set up our presentation room for the duration of the meeting, I couldn't help but notice the way Emmett fawned over Rose, not to mention after our evening out. Just weeks ago, my money had been on Rose taking him down with one shot between the big bear's eyes. Now, watching it unfold before me, and Saturday night, I wasn't quite sure who was working who anymore. Oh, I knew Emmett could pour on the charm when he wanted to, and it seemed to be working.

All had gone well, better than I'd ever even hoped it would at dinner. Rose and I had fallen into an easiness that was based on our working relationship, not the one we had in the bedroom. Emmett's bumblingly-obvious like for her helped, but Edward didn't let a moment go by where a hand wasn't at the base of my spine, or both at my waist, or simply my small hand in his. Emmett provided all the hilarity needed at dinner, deftly dodging any discussion of how he really knew me, and Rose discriminately not asking any questions, assuming it was my association with Edward that had spawned any and all knowledge of me that Emmett had. Even Edward cracked a joke or two.

I wouldn't have believed had I not been sitting smack dab next to his gorgeous ass when it happened.

After acting like tourists in Millennium Park, Emmett and Rose grabbed a cab back to her place - Emmett giving the lame excuse that his car was there - and Edward and I walked back to his condo. I wasn't sure if I was exhausted from what had been the massive stress build-up, or just getting out into the fresh air having walked around the park for an hour. But by the time we got home, I was ripping clothes off, hitting the bathroom to pee, washing my face, and then faceplanting onto the bed before Edward was even finished in the bathroom. I barely remembered his hand traveling underneath my stomach to pull me to him, my head on his chest, his other hand holding mine as the slow brush of his fingertips over my back lulled me into oblivion.

Having been separated most of Sunday by Edward's high-level meetings, I cooped myself up as long as I could stand it in our room, or should I say suite – why the hell we needed a suite I'll never know -venturing out only after I texted Emmett to meet me for a bearing walk around the hotel, to find our room, the Command Center, and of course, Rose joined us.

For the first time in weeks, I actually gained a foothold on the shitstorm that had been, throwing myself into the meeting, and eliminating Assper, for the most part, from my head. It was easy to do, even if I had only seen Edward long enough last night for him to fall into bed next to me, coming back from his male-bonding soiree at one of the shi-shi restaurants somewhere near the hotel. We were trying our best to keep our distance, and it wasn't hard to do that first day since he was gone for most of it. The duration of the meeting would be similar, though I knew he'd make a surprise appearance at least _once_ a day.

The vibrating of my crackberry in my skirt pocket suddenly had me grabbing for it, thinking it was Edward, but it wasn't. An email from a rep, asking if I had an extra copy of textbook with me, and if I could have it shipped to a professor immediately, address already in the email.

"Well, fuck?" I snapped. "You're at the same meeting I am," directing my derision not only at the rep who couldn't hear me, but at the pain in my ass contraption in my hand.

Knowing full well I did, I walked over to the table where all our books were displayed and grabbed one.

"I'll be right back," and before Emmett took another step, "I'm just going to the Command Center, Em. Down, boy." I smiled at him before walking through the doors. People were already milling about, those who had chosen not to attend the opening morning launch in the big ballroom.

Walking up to the counter, I was pulling out my phone when suddenly…

"Hi Bella!"

I was sure my eyebrow was nearing my hairline._ Who the hell are you?_

Her "Hi, My Name Is…" sticker said, Alice. It even had a heart over the i.

_Where the fuck did we find these people?_ Even though our mailroom staff was outsourced to an independent company, the little heart over the i in Alice was just irritatingly laughable.

"Uh, hi." I'd never noticed her before, not in the office, and that was surprising, considering her haircut was atrocious – looked like she did a hack job on it herself with no mirror.

"I need this shipped to John Thorton at Northern Illinois overnight. Here's his address." Writing it on a notepad, I pushed it toward her.

"No problem. It will go out this afternoon. Love your shoes, by the way."

The chick was just too cheery to stomach. I tried to give her a smile. "Thanks."

With that immensely annoying little tête-à-tête, I was convinced.

_I need more coffee._

As I made my way over to one of the little breakfast buffet areas, I started to get a prickly feeling on the back of my neck. Reaching back to run my hand over it, I turned rather inconspicuously and nonchalantly around feeling like someone was watching me, looking around to spot my very own buff bodyguard, who couldn't hide for shit in a room full of suits and guys half his size, but I didn't see him.

Yeah, definitely needed more coffee.

* * *

**A/N:**

*laughs* Sooooooooooo, that was fun. Thanks again for reading, and reviewing if you so choose. *winks*


	11. Chapter 11

A/N:

I have to send oodles of thanks to my Pufferfish, Hammerhips, who polished this sucker for me in less that 24 hours, sicker than a dog. She knows I flove her, but I can never say it enough.

Please, please, please don't hate me for not responding to your reviews. I love them all, I _really_ do.

Get comfy, folks. It's a long one at just over 10,000 words. But...I think...well, you'll just need to read.

See you at the bottom. ;)

* * *

**Chapter 11**

"Nearly freeeee," I exhaled into the mirror, leaning against the vanity counter being careful not to poke my eye out wanding on some mascara.

It had been a loooong week. I'd never been so butt tired before. _Really_ tired. Although the NSM was always exhausting, I usually found it within myself to kick it up a notch for the closing party. I'd made my rounds this week. The dinner with a territory of reps on Tuesday ended up at Red Fish where I bid my adieus at 1am catching a cab as Edward watched inconspicuously from the door. Karaoke in the Hospitality Suite on Wednesday night lasted til at least 2am when I finally left. Dinner at Blackbird with the top reps last night, Edward and I avoiding each other the whole time, being that we sat at opposite ends of the table of nearly twenty.

I was a fucking _machine_.

But the closing bash - they were having a full-fledged orchestra for part of it, members of the Chicago symphony among them. While classical musical wasn't my _thang_, the piece that Edward had played that one afternoon would still occasionally make me hum.

Of course, I'd be damned if I let him hear me. Next thing ya know, I'd be singing Dixie Chicks.

Besides that, there was some serious cash being spent on the Ball. After a few hours and copious amount of alcohol, the DJ would come on and most would hit the dance floor or clear out to various clubs around the city.

I _had_ to get my shit together before then.

Finishing up my mascara, I took a last look as I brushed on some lip gloss, taking a step back as I finished.

"I guess I'll do."

Walking out of the bathroom in my black Armani pencil mid-thigh, and a hot-pink sleeveless with ruffles plunging on the v-neck, I stopped dead to spy on Edward as he expertly tied his Windsor. I'd secretly watched him doing it every morning now, and had to admit, it was damn hot the way the man's hands worked that knot. Leaning against the doorway, he finally glanced back at me through the reflection in the mirror.

"What is so mesmerizing about the process of tying a tie, Bella?" He quipped with a slight upturn of the corners of his mouth. It struck me as almost…

Embarrassed.

Hiding my smirk, I let my eyes run over his broad, muscular shoulders on my way to the seasonless black wool that covered his finely sculpted ass, and then back to his eyes, his expression now comically righteous, only the hint of his lips upturned gave away the fact that his mind was already with mine.

"The knot." I tucked my lips in and over my teeth teasingly.

"Don't tempt me. I've got plenty in that suitcase to get you in position on that bed."

"Who said I'd be the one…in _position_, Cullen?"

Fuck, I so wanted to be in position. Legs spread over him, riding him like a stallion.

_Stallion. _

"_Your penchant for the wild and dangerous and the ability to ride me like a fine stallion."_

Shaking my head slightly, the back of my hand swiping up my forehead as if to rid my mind of the memory, my one foot taking a step, and then…

Bam.

My knees buckled, my Laboutin-clad ankle turned as I grabbed for the door trim. Closing my eyes to the spinning room, I leaned back, my hip and ass pressing against the door frame as my other hand flew fingers spread to the wall adjacent.

"Bella!" Edward shouted through the drumming in my ears.

_What the…_

"Bella…" his toothpaste-laden breath was warm against my face, his hands catching my hips as I started to plummet, until one was around my back, the other under my already bent knees. Off I was whooshed, my head lolling back against his arm until I felt my back setting on something soft. The bed.

I didn't want to…I couldn't open my eyes.

"…_ride me like a fine stallion." _

"Ass…per," I barely whispered, as palms were suddenly at my cheeks, then skin on my forehead.

"Dammit, Bella…" The disappearance of hands, the bounce of the bed, water running, and then something cool lying across my forehead.

"I'mmm…o-okay," I mumbled even though I wasn't, slowly squeezing and fluttering my eyelids until I could focus, and seeing the concern in Edward's face just above me. He wasn't hiding it well this time.

I tried to joke, "Y-you're going to ruin…my makeup with this thing," weakly brushing it from my forehead with my hand until what I realized was a washcloth and my hand fell back onto the pillow.

"You don't need makeup." My eyes flew suddenly from where they'd been on the knot of his tie to the deep green of his. Searching the intensity with which he looked at me, the seriousness of his expression made me blanch. "I'm taking you to the doctor on Monday," he said with finality.

"I don't need the doctor. I'm just…tired."

He hesitated for only a moment, but somehow I knew I wasn't going to win the doctor argument. "You _will _make it an early night tonight, Rose and Emmett can cover for you. I'll get out of my dinner, we'll have room service. It's Friday, everyone's hungover today anyway and resting up for tomorrow night."

"Edward, no." Closing my eyes for just a moment, I shifted, testing the waters. Taking a deep breath, I opened them, searching for his. "You can't just ditch your President's dinner to hole up in here with me. People will wonder where you are. I'll come back here right after sessions. I'll even nap." I attempted the sweetest, most innocent smile I could conjure up. "Order the most expensive thing on room service." I left out the part about how I usually, secretly, did that at least one night during the week-long meeting.

A girl had to…_recharge_.

He let out a long, drawn-out sigh. "No alcohol tonight." He leaned in, pressing a soft, lingering kiss on my lips, reaching for my hands. "Do you think you can sit up?"

He made way as I slid my legs, pulling as I lifted. The room spun only slightly as I brought my feet to the floor. "See, I'm fine." I hid behind my hair that had fallen from my shoulders around my face.

"Bella-"

"Go. I'll be ten minutes behind you," I barked, nodding my head to the doorway. As he rose from the bed, his fingers softly caressed my back. I glanced up as he walked, gathering his wallet and phone as he went.

At the door, he turned back, his attempt at hiding his concern failing again.

I wasn't fooling him.

"Text me immediately if you feel dizzy again."

I just nodded as he went out the door.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

In order to avoid as much innuendo and talk as possible, Emmett and I had been meeting right near the elevators. I'd text him as soon as I was ready, give him 5 minutes, and then head down so he could play bodyguard at least on the walk to the meeting room. This morning, after Edward had left, I gave myself ten more minutes before I texted him to say I was coming.

Just to be sure.

Edward would have his boxer briefs in a twist until he took my ass to the doctor, and a little voice inside me knew I should go, but I made it downstairs without any problems, as I had all week. The better I felt, the more I chalked it up to the randomness of the Assper memory, and the lack of coffee or a morsel of breakfast.

Or just the thought of Edward and his collection of ties around his wrists and ankles.

"Bells, the look on your face right now would really interest my bro. Just sayin'." Emmett popped a mini-muffin into his mouth as I grabbed my coffee and a banana.

"I'll bet it would, Em." I grinned back at him.

We walked into our room together, Rose and Jeff already there. As Emmett walked over to Jeff, I met Rose up in the front of the room, frantically searching through her purse and briefcase. I set my purse on the back table next to her.

"Bella…I…do you have anything I can borrow?"

"Borrow?"

"Aunt Flo's come three days early." She looked up from her search and directly at me.

_Aunt…Flo._

Fuck no.

Physically, I was giving the outward countenance of a kid playing the statue-maker game. Mentally, I was running the numbers, the days, the weeks, in my head.

"I…" I pretended to think for a moment, when in reality my head could barely remember the English language. "No…I don't, Rose. I'm sorry."

Wrenching her bag off the table, she whisked by me in a brisk walk. "I'll be back. Start without me." She barreled past Emmett's lost puppy look, which then went to me as if to ask, _"What the fuck?"_

I gave him a half ass shrug as my mind started to question, process.

When was my last…?

Rapid fire, I ticked off the weeks by events, inwardly cringing as the memories took me back, back, until that shittastic week. It had been the week before Edward was hired.

The week before all hell broke loose.

"_God, Beller ya make me want ta come in my shorts like a schoolboy when you get like this."_

That fateful day in my office flashed uninvited. Fuck, I was always hornier than hell the week after.

"_I'm Yours, Your Majesty."_

That same day, that same _night_.

"Omigod," I breathed, dropping into the chair just to the side of the table, catching the whip of Emmett's head out of the corner of my eye.

_It can't be. _

I was on the shot, I'd been careful, I…

Jasper and I never used condoms. We'd never needed to or wanted to. Edward and I had that first night. But…

The boat.

_Oh shitfuck._

Shitfuckshitfuckshitfuck.

I'd fucked two men, in the same week, without a condom. The shot was supposed to be 99% effective.

There was _no way_ I was that one percent.

I was _not_ going to hyperventilate, whatever it felt like.

"Bella, you alright?" Emmett's voice floated over to me as my eyes darted around the room.

I needed to pull it together. It wasn't for sure. Maybe I was just sick. Yes…

Just exhaustion, periodic barfing, and...

I stood up. "Yep, just fine." It was the performance of a lifetime as I turned my back on both Emmett and Jeff, pretending to organize my things on the table, while I lightly ran my hand over my belly.

It looked…I don't know. Maybe it was bloated, or maybe I was just projecting. I'd heard that women get bloated when first preg…

Not even gonna _think_ that word.

Busying myself with getting out my notes, I pushed it all to the back of my head. I needed to get through the presentations today. I just needed to get through today, and half tomorrow, and then…If I made it through the end of today, I could sneak out and get one of those kits.

I also needed to ditch Em.

_This isn't happening._

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The last group of reps for the day filed out as Emmett, Rose, Jeff and I packed up everything and stowed it under or on top of the table.

"I'll take the projector." Jeff offered and I merely nodded.

I'd spent the better part of that last session when I wasn't speaking formulating a plan to the nearest Walgreens.

"Bella, you wanna come get a drink with Emmett and me?" Rose's question threw me for only a moment. If she and Emmett went to the bar, I could make an effective excuse.

"No, you guys go ahead. I'm going to go up to my room and relax for a bit. I don't have anything on my agenda for tonight, except room service." I gave Rose a smile, knowing she'd understand.

"Alright. Emmett?" She turned, walking from me towards him.

"You sure, Bells?" He handed the projector to Jeff.

"Yeah, no really. I'm just a bit beat. We've only got tomorrow morning and then we're done."

"Ok, then let's go. Jeff? One beer?"

"That's a start." Jeff snorted, walking to the doors.

Gathering up my purse and briefcase, I purposely fell in behind them. "You guys go. I'm making a stop in the ladies room and then straight upstairs." It was more for Emmett to _think_ that's where I was going. "I'll see you all tomorrow. Only three more hours!"

Half ass cheerful, even smiling. Academy, I'd like to thank…

I quickly turned from them and headed towards the bathrooms, only stopping once I reached the doors to make sure they were headed the other way.

Nope. _Not_ singing the S.W.A.T theme song in my head.

When I was positive they were out of sight, I snuck along the wall making my way to the lobby, avoiding anyone and everyone with my crackberry nearly to my nose. Once outside, I hailed the first cab I saw, and sent him on the quest for the nearest drugstore. I tried not to think of the fact that I was out and about without Edward, without my buff bodyguard, without anyone even knowing where I went. The last thing I needed was more fuel for the ramped anxiety I already had. Handing the cabbie a twenty to stay put as I ran in, I spent all of five minutes scanning the possible tests, until I picked the one that seemed the easiest.

Plus sign, you're pregnant.

_Well, duh, I can handle that. _

I'd never wanted to see a minus sign so much in my life.

Luckily there was no one in line as I reached the counter, although I didn't miss the smartass look the cashier gave me as I paid and grabbed the bag, giving her a nice bitch scowl as I left. Sitting back in the cab, I started to worry about getting back into the hotel and walking through the lobby without being spotted, and shoved the bag into my briefcase. But lady luck smiled as we pulled up, apparently anyone and everyone had gone to the hotel bar on the 16th floor, or was already in their rooms. I knew I couldn't head to mine, in case Edward was there, so I took off for that out of way bathroom by the conference rooms.

The walk down the hall was quiet, but as I pushed the door open to the bathroom, I took one more glance around to make sure no one was still milling about, and then headed to the far side and the last stall. Hanging my briefcase and my purse on the hook, I scanned the directions.

_Ok, just pee on this end, and wait for 2 minutes. I can do that._

Hiking up my skirt and pulling down my little bikinis, I did just that, amazingly contorting both myself and the little wand in my hand without dropping it into the toilet. Taking some toilet paper, I propped the thing up on the paper on the metal garbage box, as I finished and pulled my clothes back into place. This was one of those moments where I wished there was a lid on the toilet so I could at least sit. I didn't want to walk out of the stall in case someone walked in and god forbid saw the little stick of my future in my hand.

The two minutes seemed like four fucking hours.

Stuck in a handicap stall staring at that little stick contemplating conjuring up the force to make that little minus sign appear, my phone suddenly vibrated in my pocket jarring me. I didn't want to touch it, not yet. It was bad enough I had to stand here without being able to wash my hands. I glanced at my watch.

It had been two minutes, thirty-seven seconds.

My hand slowly came up from my side, two fingers reaching, gripping each side of the stick as I as I tilted it to see.

The little plus sign was like an auger straight through my head.

I dropped it like it was scalding, listening to the clackity clack as it hit the ground, then scurrying to grab it from the floor and throw it in the metal trash bin on the stall wall. Turning and taking the two steps back, I leaned back against the stall door, as my phone vibrated once again in my pocket. I couldn't think about email, I couldn't think about leaving this stall, I couldn't make heads or tails of anything except for those moments in my office with Assper intermittingly mixed with Edward and his boat, and all the times we'd fucked in the last month and a half.

Until three little words finally resonated through the chaos.

_Whose is it?_

I took a deep breath. "Pull it together." I said out loud to absolutely no one in the bathroom. It's exactly what I needed to do. I needed to get upstairs, without being seen, soak in a hot tub, clear my mind, wait for Edward to come back.

Edward.

How the fuck was I going to tell him? _Would_ I tell him? Would I simply…

I'd never been the poster child for doing the right thing. Hell, my very predicament was testimony to that. But…

What if the little mutant was…_Assper's_?

_No._

But what if it's Edward's?

The mere thought of a little boy with beautiful bronze hair and deep green eyes, the spitting image of his father, in a suburban backyard playing catch complete with baseball and mitts was enough to send a flutter deep inside my chest.

_Holy shit. _

The thought of a little piece of Edward and me, living and growing inside me…

I couldn't deny it. A little spark of…hope. I _wanted_ it to be Edward's.

It _had_ to be Edward's.

Taking another deep breath, I grabbed my purse and briefcase, washed my hands and my forearms in the sink. Grabbing my phone finally from my pocket, I walked out into the hall and saw the text.

"Where ru?"

And then the next…

"Answer me please."

And then the third…

"You'd better text me back in the next minute."

I glanced at the time on the phone. That had been nearly five minutes ago.

"Shit." I muttered, racing to the elevators, my fingers typing as I went.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

By the time I reached the door to our room, I knew what I'd find on the other side. I'd texted Edward back and his non-response was deafening.

In deep shit was putting it mildly.

I'd considered the possibility that he'd come back to our room after sessions, but never thought he'd be looking for me. Now, sliding my key into the slot, I knew I needed to make this good.

Nonchalant. Convincing.

Now was not the time to tell him I was knocked up.

Opening the door as if nothing major had happened in the last hour, I glanced over to see him standing near the windows, his back to me, arms folded and his jacket tossed on the couch.

"Where have you been?" His voice was harsh as he kept his back to me. All I could think of was that day in his office.

I walked further in, setting my bags down, slipping off my shoes. "What do you mean, where have I been? I was downstairs."

"Sessions ended over an hour ago, Bella."

"Yeah, well I stopped to talk to a few people, went to…went to the bathroom, and then headed up after I saw your texts."

"Is that so?" He still hadn't turned around, and I approached cautiously yet confidently to stand a few feet behind him.

"Yes. What the fuck's with the sudden inquisition?"

His hesitation lasted for at least 2 minutes. I could see his hand come up, his fingers pressed into and then rubbing against his forehead until they went up and through his hair.

_Shit._

"Because Emmett texted me an hour ago that he and Rose were heading to the bar," he spun on his heel, his arms folding across his chest as he looked down at the carpet until his eyes met mine, the anger simmering within the dark green depths, "and that you were coming up here."

_Doubleshit._

I hadn't anticipated that Emmett would report to Edward.

Starting to unbutton my blouse, I turned from his glare, trying to maintain my casualness, trying to come up with something good to explain a whole missing hour while walking toward the bathroom. "Well, I ran into some people, chatted, and-"

His hands were around my hips, spinning me to face him, throwing me off balance as my hands shoved against his chest. "Don't lie to me, Bella. Don't ever…" His mouth came crashing down on mine, just as my hands pushed to resist the force of his tongue, the strength of his arms clutching me to him.

_What? _

_Did he think…?_

I pushed even harder against him, the anger boiling up inside me at his insinuation, wrenching my head away from his lips. "Taste what you needed, Cullen?" I pushed again, breaking free or him letting me go, I wasn't sure.

I took off toward the bedroom, wiping the back of my hand across my lips. Who the fuck did he think he was? Confusion and fury only part of what was running through me, as I slammed the door behind me and plopped down on the edge of the bed.

What the actual fuck? Did he _actually_ think I was whoring about?

_Well, your track record…_

"Fuck, fuck, _fuck_." My face fell into my hands repeating the only word that came to my head. How had my life become so screwed up? How had I let it get so-

The door suddenly swung open. I didn't need to look up to feel him, the tension, his anger only fueling my own. How dare he think, how dare he assume…I had to get away from him, somewhere, but there was nowhere for me to escape, nowhere to hide, and the animal that had been caged for far too long broke through the steel bars that had been imprisoning it.

"Get…out!" I screamed into my hands, so loud my own voice nearly unrecognizable. Nearly flying of the bed, I shouted again, "Get the fuck _out_!" I didn't want to see him, even look at him, my eyes falling on the bathroom doorway as I avoided his, and suddenly realized…

I could lock myself in the bathroom.

A quick glance at the middle of the floor between us and then at the open doorway had me sprinting toward it, but I only made it halfway. His hand was suddenly wrapped tightly around my arm, spinning me around and into him, my hands imprisoned at my sides as his one hand pressed my head to his chest, the fingers of his other spread firm over the small of my back. Rigid in his arms, he only held me tighter, his fingers twisting in my hair.

"I'm sorry," he whispered softly with a kiss into my hair. "I'm sorry." He repeated with another kiss. "I'm an ass. A colossal one." He mumbled through more kisses, his hand slowly going behind my neck, coaxing my eyes to his.

_Yes, you are._

I fought every intention, every nerve cell in my body reacting to his touch and its persuasion, but I couldn't help it. The sincerity and emotion in his voice struck a relatively unfamiliar chord, the tenderness reminding me only of when I'd been sick. As my eyes found his, the sudden furrow of his brow and the brush of his thumb on my cheek made me realize the wetness there. The rage was gone from his face, now only his scrunched forehead and the soft Emeralds that held my own.

"I…" I wanted to smack him for being so…

Him.

I wanted to tell him.

I _needed_ to tell him.

"Shhh…" Bringing his hands in front of me, he started to unbutton my blouse, his eyes darting back and forth holding my own, neither of us able to look away as I just stood there, his fingers finally finishing and pushing the thin material down my arms. Sliding his large hands around my waist, his fingers worked the button and zipper of my skirt, sending it to the floor and taking my hand as he led me toward the bathroom.

Standing shell-shocked in the center of the room, my tits heaving with each still-angered breath I took, I focused on a floor tile as he tugged at his tie and reached down to turn on the water. As he turned back around, my eyes darted up to his to see him throw off his tie and work his buttons until his shirt was off, his pants around his ankles and flung away.

He was just so…damn perfect. I slowly ran my eyes over every inch of skin and sinew, frozen, lost in the vortex of the fight that just was and the confusion of what he was doing now, and just what he wanted _me_ to do.

Reaching back, I started to undo the hooks of my bra.

"No." He raced to stand in front of me, his hands gently pulling back my arms. "Let me." It was a whisper into my neck as his lips found the spot, my head floating backward as his fingers traced the path from the closure, up to the straps on my shoulders pulling them away. Falling to his knees, his lips and tongue traced and sucked each of my tits on the way down to my stomach, his fingertips sliding down each side of my spine until they were at the small of my back pressing my belly to his mouth, his lips.

Like an instinctual response, my fingers wound softly through that fuckhot mess of hair, winding, twisting, and overcoming my anger as his kisses covered every inch of my stomach, his fingers slowly sending my bikinis to my ankles…

His attention to…his near reverence for…

_Omigod._

My fingers stopped moving as I stared down at the top of his head. "Y-you…know?" I stammered, as he kissed more, his tongue trailing and circling my belly button.

He didn't say a word as he stood up, his boxer briefs falling into a heap as he took my hand and led me toward the bath. His hand steered mine over the water as looked back at him, his head nodding to get in. Glancing down at the rush of the water, I poked a toe in, testing it, testing myself, until I slowly lowered myself in, curling my knees to me as I felt the heat engulf me. As he stepped in behind, the water swooshing around us both, his hands gently took my hair moving it to one shoulder, and then both sliding under my arms and around my waist as he sat down behind me. His thighs straightened to hold me between them, his lips traveling my shoulder blades.

"I suspected…yes."

Of _course_. The son of a doctor.

Hanging my head lower, my eyes closing to the feel of his lips and tongue across my back, his hands kneading my upper arms and then down, straightening my arms as he went. It was unnerving, it was comforting…

I had to come clean.

He must've felt me tense, his hands leaving my arms, working the outsides and then the tops of my thighs, pressing them down as I let him, straightening them as he continued his massage.

My head lolled back to his shoulder. "I…I went to get one of those tests." I finally admitted, as his lips stopped, until his hands folded both of our arms around me. My mind working on warding off the sensations of his dick pressing against my ass as he pulled me back into his chest. "I-"

"You shouldn't have gone alone." The severity of his words was only tempered by his hand sliding to my abdomen.

"I…didn't…I didn't know how you'd take it." I almost whispered, his hand running gently over my skin, until I turned in his arms, pressing him backward to lay my cheek on his chest, my hands running up to clutch his shoulders as he laid back. I didn't know how to say what was rushing around in my head, the biggest if, the _monumental_ if…

I didn't know how to tell him.

"I thought-"

"No, you didn't _think_. You didn't_ think_ how he may be out there. You didn't _think_ how Emmett would let me know where you were every minute of every single day this week. You didn't _think _that when you didn't come back to the room as he had texted me you were doing, that I would be worried out of my fucking _mind_."

He sighed deeply as his arms came up, holding me tighter, almost too tight.

"I'm sorry." It was just a whisper, my lips pressing against the skin and hair on his chest. "But…"

_Just say it._

"I need…I need to tell you something else."

His chest heaved underneath me as he took another long deep breath. "Yes?"

I slid up further, trying to find the right way to say it, feeling his semi-hard cock beneath me as I did. I'd never felt so unsure, so completely insecure than I was at this moment. "It…I…he…" I actually stumbled, the mere thought that what was inside me could be-

"It's mine, Bella."

My head popped so fast to stare at him my hand slipped on his shoulder. Searching his eyes, seeing the frustration wrought with concern and something else that I was starting to recognize. "H-how…?"

"He's sterile. It's in his file."

For all of five seconds, my mouth dropped open, until I pulled myself up, finding his mouth, his lips, his tongue, his arms sliding me to the side, water flowing out over the edge of the tub as we kissed with all the abandon and longing we had, arms clutching, legs wrapping.

I would never have enough of his mouth, those lips…

Of him.

As he pulled me back to his chest, my cheek resting once again on him, his heart pounding beneath my ear, I felt myself let go – let it all go – as only his arms, his body, his touch, could make me relax.

"I want you, Bella. I want you _both_." He said softly, his voice nearly cracking with emotion.

Slowly running my hand over his chest, struggling desperately to find it within myself, trying to come up with the right words, I said the first thing, the only thing that I could think of.

"You _have_ us both."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

It was mid-afternoon on Saturday and sessions were done. Me and some of my more high-maintenance colleagues were retiring to our rooms or hitting the hotel spa to primp and prep before the big night, the men doing manly things which most definitely involved pre-festivus alcohol.

Damn, I hoped someone had nabbed Edward's ass and held him for at least three Jamesons.

He'd likely be more…pliable.

After our soak in the tub the night before, Edward had been very…_un_-Edwardlike. Soft kisses and caresses had led to him toweling me off, carrying me to the bed, before he left me to order room service. He'd seen to it that I had most of what was on the dinner menu brought to our room, watching me eat, before tucking me in in the most _un_-dom-like fashion.

"If you didn't need to walk out that door in a few minutes, _Yours_, I'd fuck you senseless." I stretched dreamily on the bed, belly full and still completely naked from the bath with only a sheet obscuring my spreading thighs.

Knowing he needed to go, I just wanted to fuck with him…a _little_.

I'd been checking him out as he dressed but avoiding any eye contact, and tossed that little teasing tidbit out there as I casually pointed the remote to flip through TV stations, pretending to be more interested in some sitcom than the ripple of muscle over his back that I could see, or the tingling it gave me between my thighs.

"Hmmm." He tried to sound disinterested. "Is that…so…"

Throwing one arm behind my head and arching my back to perk up my tits and fuck with him just a bit more, I kept my eyes on the TV as he turned around, one arm going into the sleeve of his shirt.

He stopped mid-sleeve.

_Check._

I quickly caught his eyes as they travelled up my legs to somewhere in the middle.

"You're playing with fire, Miss Swan."

"I…" Running my other hand up over the sheet to stop at my tit, my fingers massaging lightly "…am?"

The corners of my lips drew up slowly.

He tried to hide his huff as he turned back to the mirror.

"But since you like…challenges," he slid his other arm in and hastily started on his buttons, "I say tomorrow, after_ you're_ well-rested tonight, the first one who can return to this room after sessions…" grabbing both ends of his tie, he whipped the fabric around his neck and started on the knot, each threading a slow slide into the center, followed by a quick, tight pull.

He was doing that on purpose.

_Bastard._

"…gets his or her…" his hands straightened the knot at his neck as he faced me once more, "wishes."

The shit grin was back.

_Checkmate_.

I grabbed the nearest thing I could, sending a pillow flying toward him which only made it to his feet. "I call Shenanigans, Cullen. Your VP ass can get up here whenever you want."

As he sauntered over to edge of the bed, he bent to get his jacket when suddenly his hand was around my ankle, those devious Fuckhot Emeralds holding mine. The corners of his mouth rose higher as his fingers wrapped tighter.

"I _know_."

Our staredown lasted two more seconds, until he gave my leg a tug and let go. Turning quickly, he continued his confident saunter out the door as he threw on his jacket, his laughter following him out.

"Don't leave this room, or you _will_ be punished, Bella." His raised voice carried from the adjoining living room, the click of the door signaling his leaving.

"Hmph." I said to the empty room as I rolled on my side to curI up, the TV only a minor distraction now to the plotting in my head.

I was sooo ditching that last session early.

Now, as I did the 50-meter dash through the hotel, I hoped the few mingling about in the hall didn't notice my stealth maneuvering or the shit grin on _my_ face as I thought of Edward's little challenge last night. Oh, I obeyed his little threat, even though a very small part of me considered testing his limits. Unfortunately, my eyelids weren't cooperating, nor was my stamina, the last thing I remembered was the seeing the weather on the local news. Until the sudden quiet of the TV going off and the feel of Edward's arm wrapping around my waist pulling me to his chest, did I even know he'd come back.

He didn't have a clue who he was fucking with.

Well, maybe he _sort of_ had a clue.

I had asked Rose to handle our last session, figuring between her, Jeff, and Emmett, I could sneak away, faking an urgent call. As I reached our room and before putting my key in, I leaned my ear against the door, listening for any movement, any sign he was behind that door.

Silence.

I did a mental fistpump as I hurriedly slid my key in and slithered inside, bringing my purse and briefcase with me to the bedroom, planning on tricking him into thinking I wasn't here.

Lost in the thousand different ways I could use those damn ties of his, I wasn't paying attention as I took the two steps through the bedroom doorway.

"Hello, Bella."

My purse landed on the floor with a thud as a strange noise slipped from me, sounding like a yelp. "Christ, Edward…" I dropped my briefcase near the wall by the door, trying to hide my pissiness and recover from the momentary shock. I hadn't wanted to lose, I _hated _losing, and all of the visions of Edward restrained with those heavenly ties. I'd checked this morning after he'd left – mostly Armani – the special thong I'd worn getting wetter at the thought. Dammit, I needed to regain my edge. I needed to…

Fuck the edge. I'd already gone off the cliff.

As I stood back up and got a good look, my eyes travelled over the single sheet that was laying over him to find him already pitching a massive tent until they met his, his lips seductively curled in a way that only said…

"I believe I win." He finished for me.

_No shit._

"Come here to the front of the bed and remove your clothes as you walk…slowly."

I stood rooted for a moment, fighting within myself to listen or disobey, knowing full well I had lost but wanting to maintain some sort of upper hand. So I slid my shoes off, one after the other, while letting my jacket fall down my arms. I knew his expectations - to slump forward, dropping my eyes to the floor. Which is exactly why I didn't, taking a step forward as my fingers reached for the hem of my camisole and lifting it up and over, the only loss of eye contact the moment it slipped over my head. I stepped as I unzipped, letting my skirt fall in a puddle as I walked over it, my fingers reaching around to unhook my bra, letting it skim down my arms as I came to stand where he'd asked. Oh, I'd follow audible direction, but I was not going to make it easy for him.

No fucking way.

Holding a straight face, I brought my hand to just above my tit, feathering my collarbone with my fingertips, watching his face, his eyes, for any indication, any change. The disappearance of his grin as his tongue sneaking out to wet his lower lip said it all.

Queen takes Knight.

"Feel yourself up. Just like you did last night."

So Edward wanted to…watch. As I did what he asked, cupping and massaging, I nearly gave away my inner giggle as I realized just how much my little performance last night must have been torturing him through dinner.

He threw the sheet off of him, his rock hard cock springing free, but I didn't leave his eyes, and his didn't leave my hand. "Get that thong off and climb up here. Straddle my thighs on your knees. Do not sit." He ordered, raising one hand behind his head casually, the whole time his eyes not on mine, but on my hand as I slowly worked down the miniscule piece of fabric. I hoisted one knee up and then the other, scooting along the bed, until I could throw a leg over him, on my knees, working my tit again with my hand, the other at my side.

"Touch yourself, Bella. Touch yourself as you wanted to last night, and again this morning after you ransacked my ties."

"I-_"_

"Ah ah ah…don't deny it._"_

Anal ass knew I went through his ties. It _was_ a good thing I never tried to get at those files in his desk.

Taking a deep breath only to control the aching need that had already growing between my thighs, I slowly glided my hand over my stomach and then down between my legs, my fingers sliding between my lips and finding my clit with an even slower more torturous circling and sliding. His abs clenched as I watched his eyes on my hand, my fingers, slightly quickening the pace as I felt my own body respond. Parting my lips slightly, my breaths came faster as his hand suddenly wrapped his dick, stroking slowly, in time with my fingers.

The power I had over him, the expression on his face as he watched me only made my fingers move faster, my hips starting to rock as my inner thighs clenched, wanting him inside me.

As if reading my mind, he suddenly sat up, grabbing my waist, his mouth crushing my tit, licking and sucking it into his mouth, his one hand reaching to take mine and wrap it around his cock, the other pressing down at my hip. With his hand over my own, his fingers guided the tip of his cock teasingly over my clit.

"Take me inside you, Bella. Just like that first time," he muttered through lips still on my tit. "Fuck me."

As my slow smile started to form, I pushed against his shoulder as he laid back, my other hand holding his cock as I moved my knees to position myself directly over him. Those fuckhot Emeralds were so dark, so focused with intensity as they met mine. I swirled the tip of him up and down my wetness, wanting him to beg, waiting for reaction, realizing that I wasn't only torturing him but myself as my insides clenched in anticipation.

"I'm going to fuck you, Yours," I said, as I lowered enough to take in the tip of him. "and this time," I led him a little further, ever so slowly rocking my hips, "I want to hear…" dropping all the way down, feeling him fill me, "youuu…" I breathed out, controlling my own body's response as a groan rolled from deep in his chest.

It was like heaven, watching the expression on his face as I gradually rocked faster, his hands clutching and squeezing as they moved up my thighs to my tits. Throwing my hands back on his thighs, my head fell back as I remembered that first time, the feeling of his cock and the sensations that went through me, until his hips start to thrust upward.

"Bella…" He breathed, as I alternated pulling up and then down onto him with harder grinds.

_Oh…my…Yours. _

"Yesss" I replied, again and again as I felt his fingers finding my clit, stroking harder and harder. All that went through my head, all that we'd been through in such a short time, obliterated by the feeling of my insides beginning to respond, purposely clenching around him as they did.

"Oh…fuck…Ed…" I moaned as I rode him, the sounds coming from me and him, the smacking of my ass on his thighs blending into a sweet, sweet chorus.

_Fuck I could come right now. _

Fighting it, relishing it, owning him and everything surging through me, every single moment, every single breath and sound that he made, that we made together…

_Fuck, I love him._

"Jesus…Bell…" his fingers on my tit squeezed as I leaned back up, one hand over his on my tit, the other bracing on his forearm as I felt it build inside me. Finding his eyes, my own half-lidded, I clenched again.

"Ed…" I tried to let him know, his fingers on my clit rubbing ruthlessly now. I loved him with everything I had, everything I was, and everything I was going to give him growing inside of me. It was better than fucking euphoria. It was more amazing than any fuck, any business win, anything that previously made me remotely happy. None of it compared to this, being connected to him, seeing what I did to him, and feeling what he did to me.

All of it made me cry out, my body trembling uncontrollably.

"Let go…baby."

The words half-grunted from him were all I needed, as the force within me exploded around him again and again, screams of his name as each one shook me, my insides contracting so hard I grabbed for his neck and shoulders as he sat up, tugging as the waves kept rolling.

"Oh yes…God yes…" I heard as his arms went around me, pulling me to him, bursting inside me as he bolted us both off the bed with the power of his final thrust.

"Ed…ward…"I breathed, feeling him ram into me continually as he rode it out, until he dropped back on the bed, bringing me with him, both of us freefalling.

Completely silent, lost in the sounds of our breaths, my cheek against the warmth and sweat of his skin and hair of his chest, I couldn't move if I wanted to.

_If this is love, I'm all in. _

Moments later, our breathing starting to even out, his fingers slowly played across my back.

"Sleep, My Queen."

I merely nodded my head against him, my eyes closing, listening to his still rapid heartbeat beneath my ear.

_I love you._

A soft whisper from him, the words lost against the pounding of his heart and consciousness.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

_No._

"_He's coming with me, Beller. You're nothing but a whore, and unfit to be his momma."_

_NO!_

"Bella…babe…"

A gentle shake from a hand on my back, had me jumping up, the fear rushing through me until I realized it was Edward's hand, his body beneath me, and I laid my head back down.

"Another nightmare?"

"Yeeah. Just a little one though."

"Care to talk about it?"

"It was nothing. Really." I glanced up at him, scooting up to kiss his lips but my eyes caught the clock.

"Shit, Edward, it's 4:30. We have to be downstairs in less than two hours."

"So." He laughed out.

I scampered off him, running into the bathroom and getting into the shower. Men just never understood.

Twenty minutes and a shampoo and condition later, I was finished, walking out towel around my head and my body, over to the dresser. Edward was still in bed, his eyes closed, his chest steadily rising and falling. Moving closer to the bed on silent toes, I studied him, realizing I'd never truly seen him sleep, him always up and at 'em way before I was. Walking over to his side of the bed, I took him all in, every inch of exposed skin and that still hidden by the sheet, and felt something come over me.

Recognition.

Peace.

He really was _mine_.

I sat down softly next to him, my fingers reaching to play over his lips until I leaned down, softly brushing my lips across his.

"Mmmm." He mumbled, opening his eyes with a smile.

"I always wanted to kiss a frog."

He smacked my ass.

"Hey!"

Pressing his lips together, he tried unsuccessfully to control his smirk. "We can do amazing things with our tongues."

I slid off the bed like it was covered in oil. Up and out of his reach before getting another smack.

Going back to the dresser, I dropped my towel, getting out the thong that Edward had purloined, or should I say Emmett had chosen for the occasion, and slipped it on. I couldn't help to run my hands over my belly, the little bump. Assper's voice suddenly shot in my head, my hands stilling as I wondered.

Was he right? Would I be a crap-ass mother? What kind of experience with kids did I have? I generally avoided them at all cost.

"What's going on inside that head of yours, Bella?" Edward's voice had me glancing up in the mirror to find him lying on his side, one arm propping up his head.

"Nothing." I lied.

"Is it your dream?" He said, sliding out of bed and coming up behind me, wrapping his arms around as his kissed my shoulder.

"He said he was going to take him. That I…that I was a whore and…unfit." I felt Edward tense behind me, his arms wrapping tighter as his fingers spread over my own, and over my stomach.

"Him?"

I met Edward's eyes in the mirror.

"It was a dream. He will never touch you. Ever again. Please try not to think about him anymore. Not now."

Seeing the concern of his face, I just nodded.

"Just do me the favor of not disappearing like you did this afternoon."

Twisting in his arms, I wrapped mine around him hugging him to me, biting my tongue to the small part of me that cringed at the idea of being confined, yet letting go the apprehension to listen to the other part. The part that said _do what he says_.

"I'll see what I can do." I muffled my cover laugh against his skin.

His fingers came up to beckon my chin, pulling my face to his for a quick kiss. "That's a start. Now, your King needs to go shower." He punctuated with another kiss to the top of my head.

As Edward did his thing, I did mine in front of the mirror. Deciding to let my hair air dry to bring out the wave, I started on my face, remember what Edward has said before.

"_You don't need makeup." _

Yeah, well that dress needed some.

We discussed everything about how we should act that night, even sitting at separate tables, avoiding each other to make sure no one catches on.

"I'll have my eye on you the entire time."

"I'm sure you will. Don't trip, or lose your train of thought if Bill corners you." Bill, our President and biggest of Big Kahunas.

"I'll be worried more about you tripping in those shoes," he said, his undisciplined hair becomming even more so as he ran a towel through it.

_Damn._

I stopped putting on my unnecessary brown eyeshadow to watch the reflection of him.

"Like what you see?" he mumbled walking up behind me, his hands reaching from behind to cup my tits.

"Don't start, Cullen." I pretended to ignore him, leaning forward a bit, my ass just happening to rub against his cock.

He pinched both of my nipples lightly between his fingertips before letting go. "I hope it's cold in the ballroom." He muttered, walking out.

My mind started to plot all the subtle ways I would torture him tonight.

Half hour later, Edward was dressed, haphazardly coiffed, and decked in his black Armani tux, a plain black leather mask in his hand as he sat in the chair, watching me finally put on the dress. I'd left my hair down, hoping to hide any of the telltale marks still left on my shoulders, but as I slipped it on I realized the back was high enough to cover. It was the front I was worried about.

"You didn't by chance pack double-sided tape, did you?" I asked, pretending to be worried about the low cut front.

"That would be…a negative." He twirled the mask by its string in his fingers.

"Hmmm. Then perhaps the boys in Accounting will enjoy the show." I mimicked his nonchalant tone as I twisted and turned in front of the mirror to determine boob poppage.

"I think it would be best you didn't make any sudden movements," he rose from the chair, walking towards me until he stood directly behind me, looking over my reflection in the mirror, "those belong to me now." His hands moved slowly to cup my ass. "As well as this…" sliding one over my hip to cup my pussy, "and this…" until he moved them both over my little bump, "and this."

Something about the way he held my eyes in the mirror as his hands moved over me. Something about the expression on his face as he did so. Something about the way little tingles ran through my body with each touch, made me take one of his hands, sliding it up and over to my left tit, holding it there, gazing back at him through the silence that lasted as I realized what I wanted to say.

"As well as this." It was the best I could do.

"Bella…"he breathed into my hair, spinning me around, his hand reaching up to cradle my neck as our open-mouths met, tongues winding, additional conversation unnecessary, my hands winding their way around his neck pulling myself further into him as the fingers on his other hand gently squeezed my ass.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Edward actually let me go down alone in the elevator, texting Emmett twenty minutes before I did to make sure he'd be in position at the bottom. Donning my mask only after I spotted him, we walked together to the door. Splitting up as we went in, I worked the room like a good Publisher, chatting briefly with Jeff who graciously got me my signature drink, blue cheese olives and everything.

I'd start working on getting his promotion through next week.

But as I wrapped my fingers around the base and stem, a sudden thought nearly caused me to drop it right there.

_Shit, I can't drink this._

As I made a requisite, but polite departure, I scanned the room for all possible drop-off points, finding a tray with a few empty glasses already on it. Surreptitiously setting it down, I made the mental note of having one glass of wine, maybe two, tempered with copious amount of water with lime. Two glasses of wine shouldn't hurt, and the water will look like a VT.

One hurdle down.

By dinner, I was positive Edward had stored a chip in my evening bag because every time I glanced up, every time my eyes searched for him, they would find those Emerald homing beacons zeroing in on me. A quick nod or lip twitch was all he gave, nearly imperceptible to those around him, but one that went straight between my thighs to rev. He sat only two tables away, both of us with place cards for seats facing each other across the space, Emmett at the table next to me and Rose at the table next to him.

_Wonder how the Cullenator finagled that._

By mid-dinner the orchestra started to play, and while it was a nice touch, the members of my table seemed to know more about the music than I did, commenting on the selection, the quality, and the various composers that had been chosen. Apparently since this was a masquerade ball, most of them dealt with the theme. The only one I recognized was one from that Webber-dude's _Phantom_.

As everyone finished their dessert, some of my colleagues brave enough gathered on the dance floor, showing off their skills, while I sat, sipping my second glass of wine, the first having gone down way too quickly. While twirling my fork amidst what was left of a fruit-laden tart, I got the distinct sense that Edward's eyes were on me, but as I casually looked over to where he was sitting, his eyes were focused intently off to the side of me. As I slowly tracked the path of where he was looking, I caught what looked to be a pretty heated but hushed exchange between Emmett and Rose, both of them standing, Rose's eyes blazing up at Emmett's whose back was to me.

To say she was pissed was putting it lightly. I'd seen that expression before.

I had just enough time to think _good thing there was no one left at his table, _when suddenly Rose stormed off, Emmett letting her as he threw his napkin that had been balled up in his fist to the table.

_What the ever-bloomin' fuck now?_

I stood up just in time to see Edward doing the same, heading over to Emmett, taking his arm and pulling him off to the back of the room. I chanced a look around, to see if anyone was paying attention, if anyone had pulled out a phone and was texting madly, if anyone was using their drink napkin to take notes.

Nope.

Everyone had either left their tables to go closer to the dance floor, or was on the dance floor.

I couldn't imagine dancing to this shit.

So I stayed put, flitting between walking over to the two of them and going to find Rose, studying Emmett and Edward in between subtle glances elsewhere to not look like I was staring at them.

That's when the little bladder fairy decided to sprinkle tinkle dust.

_Don't break the seal. _

Fuck it. I could kill two birds with one stone, checking out the bathroom for Rose while I did. I decided to text Edward where I was going, waiting for him to get it and giving me a nod while he and Emmett continued discussing whatever drama had just gone down.

I was midway out the door when the orchestra struck up a tune sounding vaguely familiar, a waltz, and the nightmare, Assper, flashed in my head like a smack to the face.

"_Say goodbye to Edward, Beller."_

Stopping momentarily in my tracks, I scanned the few people who were walking back or milling around.

_Get a grip, Bella_.

Jesus H. Christ I was becoming a paranoid schizophrenic.

As I pushed open the bathroom door, I sent Bizarro packing, shaking off the willies, avoiding the two gals from Production who were at the mirror, looking to see if there was anyone else in the stalls. But the doors were all open, so I happened a look on the other side, where there were more stalls. Nada.

If I were pissed off, where would I go?

I'd want to get as far away from Edward as I possibly could. In fact, I'd been there a few times just this past week.

How far I'd…no, _we'd_, come.

I smiled at my reflection in the mirror. How stupid I had been, how truly mystifying Edward was and continued to be. To think, I once thought he was a colossal prick, stealing my promotion, leveling a threat of what he knew about me. Until that incredible night, how I hadn't even known it was him hidden behind a mask kneeling in front of me. A line from a movie suddenly struck a chord… "You know, like magnets. You swoosh 'em around, and swoosh 'em around, until…"

Swooshing as an effective euphemism.

_I wonder if he's up for swooshing again tonight. _I nearly giggled out loud.

Mmmph. Fuck, I needed to pee.

I needed to find Rose.

Remembering there were two bathrooms in this hall, one way further down, I took a deep breath to help hitch-up the bladder for just a bit longer. _She was gonna fucking owe me._ I walked out, not bothering to worry about the looks the two bitches at the counter were giving me.

Venturing further down the hall, I only partly noticed how it grew deserted, barely hearing the music as I remembered Heaven and Yours, Edward's boat, that first time in his guest room, the shower…

If I didn't stop soon, and if Rose wasn't in this bathroom, I was texting him to get his ass down here.

But as I pushed open the door, the only sound was the squeak of the hinges.

"Shit. Where are you, Rose?"

I'd text her soon as I finished. Entering the first stall, starting my business, I suddenly heard the door squeaking again, and for a moment I wondered if it was Edward.

_Naughty, naughty VP._ I smirked as I finished.

The clicking of shoes not of the male persuasion flooded me with disappointment as I opened the stall door.

It was that chick from the Command Center. Princess Pixiedust. Yeah.

I seriously wanted to growl as I went up to the sink to wash my hands.

"Hi Bella! Wow, I never thought I'd find you in here. That is absolutely _the_ most gorgeous dress. "

I smiled the best I could at her reflection in the mirror, "Thanks," as I set my bag down and reached for some soap.

God, she was so annoyingly perky.

I had just enough time to get my hands under the water when suddenly something was around my mouth.

"Night, Bella."

And just a few seconds more, my hands tugging at hers and the rag held over my mouth, to see that perky ass smile turn, and everything fading to nothingness.

* * *

Everyone still breathing? Need a cold shower? Cocktail? I hope it was a good rollercoaster-esque type of ride.

If anyone would like to see Bella's dress, Edward's tux, their masks, or hear the waltz that the orchestra plays, please head on over to this chapter's posting on TwiWrite, since I can't do a link here without CIA-lookin, mind-boggling, code. ;)

As always, thank you for reading, and reviewing if you so choose.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

I won't even attempt an explanation as to what's taken me so long on this chapter. Suffice to say, I appreciate all of you hangin' in there, and the many new readers that have cropped up over the last few months. In appreciation for your patience, I've included an EPOV. I hope in your eyes I've done him, and my Bella, justice. For all you Jizzperites? You're probably…well…yeeeeah.

There isn't a word big enough for the amount of thanks I owe JaspersDestiny, JaspersIzzy, Hammerhips, and Alexis Danaan. I love you all more than you could ever know.

_**Warning: I go where my chapters and characters take me. This chapter is not for the faint-of-heart, nor anyone with issues with torture. Please do not PM me, or email me, after you've read the entire chapter, only to flame me after you've done so. You've been warned.**_

* * *

**BPOV**

Fog. Pea soup-style.

Darkness. One lone streetlight on an otherwise empty road in the middle of nowhere.

_Christ._ Where the hell was I?

As if glancing up and down the lonely stretch of asphalt would actually make something appear, all it made me realize was that I couldn't see shit. The very edge of the pavement butted up to my toes, with gravel piercing the very thin soles of my shoes, most likely ruining them.

_Not _the fucking _Choos_.

Not a car or a_ soul _was in sight, only what looked like rows and rows of corn on both sides of the road…

As my eyes darted back and forth, I realized I still had my dress on; the one that Edward had…

"Edward! Edwarrrdddd!"

Where the hell _was_ he?

Where the hell was _I_?

Twisting from side to side and seeing no car and no Edward, a jar to my shoulder made me realize my hand was suspended, my arm stretched up into the air, and something held it there around my wrist.

The Awards Dinner…

The Masquerade Ball…

Scrunching my eyes shut for a moment, I tried to clear the fog in my head that seemed denser than the shit surrounding me.

Why _the fuck_ was my arm stuck up in the air?

How _the fuck_ did I…

Holy shit, was that a light?

Squinting, trying to come up with something solid, whatever it was was coming closer, a slim stretch of line growing into a hazy ball of light, but I couldn't tell if it was a car or a truck, or for that matter an alien ship.

Waving my already-raised hand, I started to panic, but a pinching at my wrist made me stop. Glancing back to the light, which was now much closer, I saw headlights. Big ones.

Turning slightly, I grabbed my elbow with my other hand and pulled hard, but the pinching at my wrist stopped me as a feeling came over me.

_How completely fucked is this?_

"Shhhit…"

Something pierced clean through to the back of my head, and the road that had just been there disappeared, replaced by twinkling lights on the backdrop of nothingness. The base of my throat vibrated with a low moan as I struggled to clear away some of the mental fog. It took only a few seconds to realize I wasn't on a road; I was lying flat on something soft. My eyelids felt glued shut as I tried to open them, to see, but the pain in my wrist had me fluttering them open and then squinting between the throbbing in my head, the light coming from somewhere, and the sting at my wrist.

Damn, my head was… The pain in the muscles of my arm and the clank of metal on metal made me pop my eyes open wide, not giving a shit about the light, to get a view.

White, lots of white. Slowly drawing my head back, I saw the cuff around my wrist and the steel rods that were the frame of the bed I was laying on.

What the absolute _fuck_…?

~o~o~o~

**EPOV**

One moment.

One distracting conversation with Emmett, and one completely innocuous trip to the bathroom.

That's all it had taken for him to nab her.

And I knew he had her.

As my cap toes wore a path between the stereo and the view out my bank of windows, I couldn't help but think of Bella. The ominous darkness of the lake that stretched far and wide conjured up visions of the state she must be in.

Somewhere.

That is if she was still…

I inhaled half the Macallan 25 from the crystal in my left hand.

_Fuck!_ Not going there.

Emmett's fingers banged on the keyboard of my laptop, a phone held precariously on his shoulder, as he spat orders at his men—men who included PIs on the take that owed him a favor, men who had worked their way on the fringes of city business, politics, and were only talked about by law enforcement in reference to waiting for them to slip up.

The big guns.

We'd torn the hotel to pieces as quietly as we could, starting with the bathrooms, searching every nook and cranny. We moved from there to the ballroom, then to our rooms, and then back down to the ballroom, calling Bella's cell phone every nanosecond. Voicemail. Either she had it off or it was on vibrate still from the ball.

_Damn that fucking ball. _

It was only when a marketing coordinator came up to Emmett with an evening bag, his face flashing with concerned recognition as he took it from her but changing to cool charm as he thanked the girl, that I knew. Her pink cheeks revealed just what she thought of his dimpled smile. He rifled through the insides as she walked away, only to pull out a Blackberry that we both recognized. It was the Blackberry he'd been trying to call for the last half hour.

The thing was like Rose's Amex card; she never left home without it.

Emmett didn't want to believe that Jasper had taken her, too, after their pseudo stare down and argument at dinner. Rose had wanted to leave. Emmett, with all his eloquence, had flatly told her no, that he had to stay with Bella and he wanted her within eyeshot.

Rose didn't take kindly to being ordered around. Not by him. _Especially_ not by him.

To say Emmett was on a mission was putting it lightly. To say we both had wracked our brains, me with files and Emmett with technology, would be the understatement of the year, the century.

Unbeknownst to my brother, my mind was a spinning maelstrom of implications, and the thought that kept coming to the forefront, the possibility of all impossibilities, kept denying me any form of concentration on the files of information that had been strewn out in front of me.

If Jasper did have Rose, then he might have somehow made the connection between Emmett and me.

Emmett only knew part of what that meant. He knew about Jasper, he knew of our history, but I'd never told him of my suspicions about Tanya, thinking it would be better to keep the beast at bay than having my brother go off half-cocked. Neither one of us needed that at the time.

Now, I rethought that decision. Things would be different now if I'd allowed Emmett the honor of giving Jasper cement boots years ago.

We'd been pouring over info for almost two hours. It was nearing midnight, and my adrenaline levels were spiking. I had to think. I had to digest. The path I was wearing on both my Persian and my hardwood was of no concern. I had to figure out where the hell he'd taken her.

However, I couldn't help but voice the one thought that was clear as day, "I let my fucking guard down, Em. _We_ let our fucking guard down."

"Get your game on, bro. We're gonna find 'em. If he wants you, then they're just bait."

"Yes, and fully expendable." I turned from the windows and walked up to the bar, grabbing my bottle of scotch for a four-finger pour.

Emmett stopped all movement, his attention to me leaving briefly to hit the End Call on his phone. "What you sayin', bro?"

I took another swig, and my breath inflated my chest before I responded. "He's done it before. He may already have…again." I didn't have to look up to know that the finality of my words had sunk in and had effectively blown to bits the thin string of positivity that he'd been clinging to since we'd walked in. The ensuing silence, however, was like the striking of the wrong piano key—a b flat as opposed to a b—and it hung in the air, invading the already heavy blanket of anxiety that was both of us together.

Emmett blew out a long breath and stopped typing. "When? Why the fuck didn't you tell me?" He sat back in my desk chair, and I could see the wheels turning in his head as my revelation sunk in further.

"Because at the time, it wasn't necessary." I took my scotch and headed back to the files of information of one Jasper Whitlock that were spread across my coffee table, where I sat down.

It was Emmett's turn to stare out the windows now.

Perhaps it was time to call the legitimate law enforcement. Real cops. At least get some top investigators on this. I could bankroll anything, and with Emmett, hell we could…

"If we call the cops, they're as good as dead, you realize that, right?" Emmett's low voice bit across the silence as I glanced up at him still gazing out at the darkened lake.

He was right. "Which is why _you_ need to get your game face on. Now." It was enough to move his gaze from the windows back to me. Two seconds later, his face was once again focused on the laptop.

~o~o~o~

**BPOV**

Metal. Everywhere.

The room was like some industrial Star Wars meets bad hospital drama, complete with a gray cement floor and blacker-than-coyote-shit curtains draping the one window. The whole room reeked of cheap décor, even though its attempt at pretentiousness was clear. The light coming from the two silver floor lamps, their canned shades meant to set-off the two metal tables, shined down on what was _on_ the two tables...

My eyes zeroed in on the thin strips of a multi-stranded whip hanging off the side.

_Shit. _

It must have been a warehouse of some sort or a vacant building, with what looked like heavy-duty walls around me. It was a space made up to look like a modernized version of… a room for…

_Mother. Fucker. _

If it weren't summer, this place would be freezing, but as it was, it was August. Hot little beads of sweat rolled down between my tits and on my forehead, which was still pounding. The air hung stagnantly, and I realized I was fucking naked as the day I was born, except for the thong Edward had given me, and my one wrist was cuffed to the bed.

This was _soooo_ not good.

_Edward. _My head swam with thoughts of him—of _us_—and what had just been hours before.

Jesus fucking Christ, he probably had no idea where I was. With no clock in the room, I had no idea what time it was or how long I'd been here, or even how long I'd been out. The two piece-o-shit lamps and their too-bright bulbs made me feel like some sort of an experiment. As my head dropped back to the pillow beneath it, my eyes scanned the white-tiled ceiling, and that bitch's reflection in the bathroom mirror came back to me. She'd put something over my mouth, and then…lights out.

_Oh, Edward, Edward, Edward…_

SHIT! What had I done? How was I supposed to know a quick trip to the bathroom to find Rose would result in this?

I knew it was Jasper.

It _had_ to be Jasper, and the thought was enough to freeze every blood cell in me. There would be no Emmett this time, no Edward to the rescue, because no one knew where I was, not even me.

My free hand inadvertently went to my abdomen, slowly rubbing, softly pressing, trying to reach that thing inside me, that little piece of life that just hours ago had been accepted by not only me but by Edward as well—my little Bug growing within me that I thought I'd never have, would never want, and now, besides Edward, was the most precious thing of all.

I had to get out of here.

Rolling on my side and scooting up the bed brought a stab to my temple, but I had to get a better look around and at this cuff. Damn, if I'd worn my hair up I could have at least tried to jimmy the fucking thing with a bobby pin, not that I knew shit about how to do that. Glancing at the bedpost and then up and over, there was absolutely no weak point to pull the cuff, with two metal bars horizontally attached to the posts and the cuff underneath the second one.

"Fuckshitbitchpissonastick," I huffed as I lay back too quickly, too forcefully, and my head swam with the movement. Blinking through the dizzy spell, I knew there was only one way out of this, and it was up to me. Sweet-talking Jasper now would most likely be a vain attempt at freedom, but I had to try.

For Edward.

For his baby.

For us.

A door on the far end of the room suddenly swung open. "Well helllooo, Beller."

The Joker had nothing on the grin plastered on Jasper's face.

~o~o~o~

**EPOV**

"G-god…DAMMIT!" My glass fell hard onto the table. The sides of my head were throbbing as I squeezed each side with the palms of my hands, trying to put the information it contained into some coherent, cohesive usefulness and pummel my guilt down deep, burying it.

Guilt wouldn't help Bella now.

"_Whhhy_, Emmett? Why didn't I…?" I pulled at the ends of my hair, hoping the needle-like stings would stop the throbbing, "…say it to her, to her _face_, so she heard me, to…FUCK. Just _say_ it!"

"Say whaa?"

I slapped my hand down and the movement set the paper in front of me adrift.

"Bro, if you're meaning the L word…?"

The question hung in the air but needed no affirmation, as Emmett's fingers started again on my laptop. This funk was neither doing me nor Bella and Rose any good. They had precious little time, if I knew Jasper at all, and my knowledge of Bella's condition made my chest implode. If she could just hear me…

_Submit, Bella. Submit and survive until I find you. _

"She's strong, bro. A fighter. They both are." Even though Emmett's voice tried to sound as strong as his 250lb frame of pure muscle exuded, even though I knew he meant Bella and Rose, he couldn't hide the uncertainty from me.

"That's what I'm afraid of. That fucking mouth of hers. She doesn't know when to stop. She'll goad him into…"

I didn't even need to look up from the blurry words on the paperwork in front of me to feel his stare.

"Bella's pregnant." My voice was flat.

I caught his reaction from the corner of my eye. He grabbed his phone and had someone on the line before the words flitted across my consciousness.

_Submit, baby. Buy me some time. Just…_

Fuck if I didn't love her beyond reason.

I actually thought she could hear my mind.

~o~o~o~

**BPOV**

Jasper's mix, Part 1

_Enter Sandman_ – Metallica

_Little Smirk_ – Theory of a Deadman

_The Killing Moon_ – Echo & the Bunnymen

…

He sauntered in like the cat who ate the canary, the carnie ride operator who's working the day shift just this side of sober, that boogeyman in your dreams that doesn't ever go away from your psyche even in the bright light of day.

_Fucking ass. _

"Welcome to my new facility, Beller. I figured I'd get the best of the best to try it out first, break her in." His voice dripped with sarcasm as he took a step toward a table, snatching something in his hand and pointing it upward. I followed the general direction, and just as the music started, I saw the small Bose system on the shelf.

_Enter Sandman. How original. _

His head bowed slightly toward me. "Since I knew ya like your music when you…ah…" his hand put down the remote, taking his eyes from mine, "I done made this _special_ mix just for _you_." The turn of his back to me only partially muffled his sardonic chuckle.

Lifting my head slightly, I followed him as he shifted to look over what was on the table. His fingertips glided slowly, reverently, over whatever was on top, until he picked a few items up, as if inspecting them.

Gut check time.

What I once referred to as toys now had me inwardly recoiling. His eyes found mine, only to ravage down my body, a spreader in his hand. My feet instantly slid up and to the side, trying to draw them away, even though I knew there was nowhere to go other than to bend my knees and lengthen the physical distance between us. As he set the spreader back on the table and picked up something else, a bulge at his ass crack caught my eye. There, in the waistband of his hand-me-down Wranglers, only partially hidden by his half-untucked white button down…

_Rat bastard._

My tongue flew off the handle before I could swallow it.

"Nice denim. Where'd you get them—your sorry ass of a daddy or the crack pimp your momma fucked to create you?" He took the four or five steps it took to reach the side of the bed and cocked his arm back so fast that my instinct to move hardly had the time. The back of his hand whacked across my cheek mid-cringe.

"Darlin', you have a mighty smart mouth for someone in your predicament." He half-laughed as he grabbed my chin in his hand, forcing my eyes to his even as they squinted, his fingers wringing more pain into my already stinging face. "You do realize you keep talkin' like that, I'm gonna shoot ya before I get to fuckin' ya. And what would be the fun in that?"

_Asswipe._ He would probably even fuck this up before he…

I tugged my chin from his grasp, swallowing hard as a crippling sensation started to take over. Jesus H. Christ, he was going to kill me.

_Edward._

He had no idea I was here, no idea how to find me, if he even knew I was missing yet.

"Oh, no, Beller, we don't have time for idle chit-chat. No, sirreee. I've already spent enough time with my other guest, and she's worked over quite nicely, although I was rather disappointed in her. I always reckoned her to be a more spirited filly."

My mind registered "other guest" about a millisecond after he said it. "Who—?"

"Nah ah ah." He casually strolled back over to the table as his drawl dripped, where he reached for a whip, dragging the leather through the palm on his other hand as he walked back toward me. Part of me wanted to scoot away from him, but the bitch in me held my ground as he came up beside the bed. Jasper had seen me naked countless times, but the psychotic ass simply would not get the satisfaction of seeing my fear.

No _fucking_ way.

But as he knelt down, the convo with Edward sprang back into my head quicker than a switch. My panic chipped away at my passive façade as I put two and two together. This wasn't about just me being held, being handcuffed to the bed, and something told me it wasn't just about Edward and Jasper's past.

It was about him, me, _and_ Edward. It was about a triumvirate of transgressions, possessions, and losses, and in a minute it was about to be something else.

I couldn't let my mind focus on the t-word that flitted through it.

Suddenly, the fingers of his left hand came up, inching their way toward my skin, and my abdomen unconsciously contracted. As he reached the valley between my tits, I couldn't keep my body from jerking, but he kept on, running his fingers down over my stomach and belly button to the edge of my thong, his eyes following them as they went. It took everything I had not to push his hand away with my free hand.

Instead, I clenched the sheet underneath it, wishing it were his balls.

"Of course, there was never really anyone like you, Beller, for me." It was almost a whisper, as if he didn't want anyone else to hear. I glanced up at the door before coming back to his hand, his fingertips playing with the edge of my thong. I knew that voice. It was the voice that said his dick was already hard.

"I know I'm not supposed to touch ya, but I'm changing the rules." Taking another glance at his face, I saw that it held a faraway look, as if he were remembering or maybe planning, I wasn't sure which. I concentrated on a spot on the mattress between his face and his fingers, which were still skimming over the lace that was the front of my thong, and tried to maintain control of my breathing. My body wanted to inch away, but my inner bitch wanted to rip off his dick.

He was more fucked in the head than I ever realized. The corners of my mind jostled for position—one wanting to just reach up and gouge his eyes out, the other more rational side running over possible ways to keep him talking.

_I'll take conversation starters with homicidal lunatics for $200, Alex. _

I needed to work him, and I needed to do it fast. I needed to convince him of…of something. Maybe I could convince him I was on his side? That this was all a misunderstanding? That Edward was merely a plaything and he was my everything?

I felt the bile rise up and burn the back of my throat.

If I didn't keep him talking, I was liable to become another..._Rose_. I knew it was Rose in that other room. We would be…

Just like Tanya.

I breathed deep through my nose, and I watched him stand up.

_Calm. Cool. Get your shit together, Bella. _

"Jasper, I—"

The precision strike of the whip over my upper half was so quick, so unexpected, that I had no time to prepare myself. There was no time to hold back the cry that escaped me. My one hand pulled at the cuff that surrounded it as my other hand came down over my abdomen. I curled onto my side as the fire ignited across my ribs.

"NOT another word from ya!" He sneered back at me and then turned, the soles of his boots scuffing like sandpaper against the cement as he did so. I studied his back between the stinging pain of my skin and the scrunching of my face as he walked away. I tried to contain myself, tried to breathe, thankful for the fact that three inches lower he would've struck something far more valuable to me than my skin.

The door suddenly swung wide open, and it caused me to lift my head up and off the bed, just in time to see that fucking bitch pixie walk in wearing _my_ dress. Cock sucking whore had my Choos on, too.

_Damn her and her annoying twig hair._

Whether it was from the burning still across my ribs or recognizing that silence was golden, I pressed my lips together, deciding that not speaking was a better plan than ripping her a new asshole from across the room.

"Whadya think, cowboy?" She twirled, putting on a show and gyrating her hips as she went around. "Ooh, the shoes, too, Jasper! We wear the same size!" She pointed out her toe and clapped like a 10-year-old girl getting a new pony. I swear, if ever got out of this, I would find her and shoot her myself.

"Knockout, darlin'," he drawled as he walked over to her, his hand slithering around her waist and to her ass, both of them coming together for the most disgusting display of open-mouthed mauling I'd ever seen. I dropped the side of my head back onto the bed and squeezed my eyes shut, not only to rid myself of the view but also to keep myself from vomiting. The sound of something being dropped on the table had me bringing my knees up further, until I realized he had something else in his hand, and by their tinkling I knew it was a set of keys.

_Please, please, unlock the cuff._

Although the thought of even touching…

"C'mon, darlin'…" He was suddenly next to the bed, his breath wafting over my cheek as he spoke, causing me to open my eyes and see him nearly nose to nose, and he undid the cuff on my wrist. "I have other plans for you, and horizontal isn't one of them…_yet_." His whisper prickled like ice crystals across my skin, and I caught a quick glimpse of his expression. The corners of his lips lilted upward just as Little Smirk came on the sound system. The smirk I once found so incredibly hot was now almost maniacal. He tugged my arm and yanked me up to sitting position by the cuff before pulling me off the bed.

"You should recognize this next part of the show." He laughed ominously as he wrenched me forward, and I stumbled to the foot of the bed. I wanted to scream, I wanted to run, I wanted to knee him in his non-functioning nads, but something told me to wait, to try and play the scene as he was leading it. Maybe all he wanted to do was teach me a lesson.

Yeah, but a lesson in what…?

_Submit, Bella. _

Edward's voice.

The clarity and authority of this timbre in my head was only silenced by my sharp inhale.

Could_ I_ submit?

To…_Jasper_?

There was no way he was putting that Texan toothpick of his inside me now. Shit, would it even _come_ to that? Or was he planning… I remembered what Edward said about Tanya—a drug overdose—but as I took a good glance around the room, there was nothing that I could see that looked like drugs or drug paraphernalia.

The fear crept back in on silent toes as he pushed me with his body until I couldn't go back any further. The starchiness of his shirt was coarse against my nipples, and his jeans pressed against my thighs. The edge of the mattress suddenly hit just below my ass cheeks, and he purposely rubbed up against me, attaching the cuff on my left wrist to a chain hanging from the metal bedpost. Then he grabbed my other arm, stretching it to a set of cuffs already hanging from an identical chain on the other side. The whole time, I kept my yap shut, enduring it all, trying to relax enough to let him manhandle me into whatever position he wanted me in.

_Stall. _

Yes, but…_how_? My pain threshold? Fuck if I even knew I had one. With Edward it had been… But _this_? This was… I tugged slightly at the cuffs and the chains they were attached to, my stomach and ribs still tingling.

I couldn't talk him down, or else I was liable to make it worse.

"Such a good little filly, all quiet-like, and I didn't even have to tell ya twice." His breathy whisper was next to my ear as he ran his fingertips from the cuff he had just closed up my arm to my shoulder. The urge to turn my face from that hot, cheap-ass-beer smelling breath of his almost won over, until his finger grazed my armpit as he stepped back, making me jerk—not because I was afraid but because I was ticklish, and the asshole knew it.

"But I don't want ya quiet anymore…_dar_lin'." He mocked as he turned to face me. My face and my body were as passive as I could make them, but just as I dragged my eyes up to meet his…

Smack!

I couldn't help but cry out as my other cheekbone felt the wrath of his backhand. My eyeballs nearly popped from their sockets, and my neck muscles strained as my face flew to the side, his knuckles hammering my temple. The pain was no match for my inner bitch. Even as my eyes started to water, I made sure to turn my head back toward him, keeping my gaze ahead and away from his, even as the thought of meeting his eyes dead on crept in in the back of my mind.

This _was_ about me.

Only God knew what he had in store for me, considering what he might have already done to Rose. If she…

If she was even still alive.

A high-pitched squeak from the doorway cut into my head like an ice pick.

As my anger started to flare, overtaking my fear, I stared at the tips of his Old Gringos boots. He didn't turn toward the sound as he said, "Now, would ya mind leaving Beller and me alone for a while, Honeybuns? Why don't ya go check on our other guest? I'll holler for ya when it's time."

I'd nearly forgotten about his pixie bitch, but even so, my head came up a smidge at the word _time_.

Time?

Just as the possible meaning registered, I was able to move my gaze enough to catch a peep of his Hack-headed wench. "Of course, baby. Don't forget, now—I wanna watch." Her lips stretched wider as she reached for the doorknob, her eyes sliding from his to meet mine, the expression on her face exactly as it had been in the bathroom mirror. She then turned and walked out, the click of her heels—_my_ _Choos_—clacked over the floor as she shut the door behind her.

I lowered my gaze once again but caught the movement of Jasper's boots as he moved toward me.

"Oh, I forgot ta mention the walls're soundproof. Each and ev'ry room. So you go ahead and scream all ya want, darlin'. Ain't no one gonna hear ya, 'cept for me, and ya know I like it loud, unlike you. But in keeping with the theme of tonight's _festivities_…"

Suddenly his damn boots were a foot in front of me, and something in his hand caught my eye. His hot breath burned as it came in contact with what I already knew were cuts on my face. I turned my head just a fraction away, but his hand wrenched my chin back to him, holding it, drawing my eyes and my mouth to him.

"Now, gimme some sugar." Yanking my jaw, his mouth covered my own, his fingers pinching to open my lips like a fish, his tongue forcing its way in. It took everything I had to keep from biting down on the slithering mass of flesh, even drawing my own tongue to the back of my throat.

But then his hand came up like a vice on my pussy, his middle finger moving the thin strip of thong to press hard up and around my clit. I drew in a breath when his mouth left mine, but his other hand still clenched my jaw to make me look at him. "What, not wet for me yet? I guess I'll have to fix that."

Before I could grit my teeth to keep from calling him all the shit that was flying through my head, to keep from spitting in his face, his fingers squeezed my jaw harder, opening my mouth, and a ball gag appeared out of nowhere. He shoved in it and stretched the strap around my head. Contrary to the force against my mouth, his one hand slowly, softly, dropped over my clavicle and then to my right tit. His fingers traced circles around the nipple, and the fucking thing hardened, betraying me, and then those same fingers clamped down hard, twisting my nipple.

I couldn't help but make a noise and wheeze through my nose.

"I am soooo going to enjoy this, Beller." My eyes caught his long enough to see his lips part into a full-fledged menacing smile as he stared back at me. I only lowered my chin once again to hide the defiance in my head, yanking a bit at the cuffs.

His laughter as he walked over to the table sent a chill down my spine.

_I was so fucked. _

_~o~o~o~  
_

**EPOV**

"Bro! Her cellphone!" Emmett started pounding keys on my laptop, whose keyboard had taken the brunt of his abuse all night. I wondered if it would hold up much longer.

"Yeah? What…?" Then I realized what he was already working on and my ass flew off the couch to stand next to him. "Of course. The fucking tracking! Can you hack into the company software?"

"It's a long shot, but we didn't find her bag, only Rosie's. If he took it with him…"

All the company phones had tracking software installed. I didn't want to know how Emmett knew how to tap into it, nor did I want to know how he could find it on my laptop.

"In case you're wondering, and I know you are, I did some other work while in the office. Just in case."

"Whatever you did, don't tell me." I leaned over the desk, watching as something that looked like Google Maps appeared on the screen.

"It's a fucking building in a sketchy area of the Southside. Lemme check out a little more on it before we—" He stopped talking long enough to click on another tab, his fingers flying almost as fast as his brain evidently was. I never realized the technological prowess my brother had up until this point. I'd never had a reason to.

Until now.

"Ed, the owner of the building at that address is one Alice White Locke."

I read the information on the screen as he said it aloud.

"There's an Alice in the mailroom. Her name's Alice Brandon."

"Fuck, that's it! The stupid fuck thinks two letters and the splitting of his name is going to hide it."

There was one thing I needed before we left, and I grabbed my keys from the corner of my desk, unlocked the bottom drawer, and took out my 9mm semi-auto.

Emmett was already halfway down the hall when I shoved my piece in the back of my suit pants, and I was nearly caught up when he said, "Don't worry. My firepower's in the car. We'll take mine." I wondered about the stealth of his jacked-up black Escalade, but the firepower under the floor in back had me reconsidering.

As we both ran out the door, Emmett was already on his cell giving his men the address and ordering them into position.

As we reached the elevator, I suddenly realized an onslaught wasn't going to work. "You and I go in first, alone. The rest can wait for a signal. If Bella and Rose are…" I didn't finish. The expression on Emmett's face told me the guns were an afterthought. His bare hands would be enough.

"Just so we're clear, his ass is mine."

~o~o~o~

**BPOV**

Jasper's mix, Part 2

_I'm Your Boogie Man_ – White Zombie

_The Chain_ – Tantric

_Shoots and Ladders_ – Korn

_Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)_ – Big & Rich

...

I was on fire.

Every inch of my skin, from my ass to my shoulders, the tops of my thighs and across my ribs and tits, was aflame.

I knew I was fading in and out, the pain ripping through my arms only occasionally bringing me back. The metal on my wrists dug into what I knew was my skin rubbed raw as my body nearly hung from the cuffs, my legs barely keeping me upright.

He had used everything in his arsenal. I didn't even register the clamps on my tits anymore. I wasn't really sure how I was actually still conscious. It had stopped being his fucking version of foreplay somewhere around the time his cane reacquainted itself with my back and introduced itself to my ass. I tried using everything I had been taught, everything I could _remember_, but my brain wouldn't cooperate. Everything was on fire. _Everything_.

Safeword?

Fuck. There _was_ no safeword.

I'd kept myself as quiet as I could in the beginning, clamping down on the ball in my mouth to the litany of motherfuckers that flew through my head with every lash, but the leather whip across my abdomen had me whelping out loud.

Not for me, but for what I knew was inside of me.

The strikes grew in their ferocity with each wave, with each change in weapon, while he went on about how Edward would never fuck with him again, how Edward would never have me, how he'd take away the one thing that meant anything to him, just like Edward had done.

During a few moments of lucidity, I actually considered telling him, begging for my life and the one that I carried, stupidly thinking that a shred of compassion still laid buried deep inside of him. If I were as he said I was—the only one that ever "did it for him"— he might stop. Knowing I was pregnant might make a difference.

But then Edward's revelation came back like a train going off the rails. Jasper would know it wasn't his.

If this could get any worse, telling him I was pregnant with Edward's baby would send him into the stratosphere.

And just like that, it stopped.

"Lemme give you the moral of this story, Beller, just so you an' I understand each other, so ya have the knowledge before I send ya where you're going. You thought I was your puppet, your wimpy-ass cowboy who didn't know shit. That's what you thought, wasn't it? You thought you had my dick so far up your pussy, it was touching the back of your throat."

He paused long enough, walking…somewhere, but I couldn't lift my head or open my eyes enough to find out.

I didn't give a shit about his explanation.

The cane that had just met my ass sounded as if it had been thrown onto the top of one of the tables. "But, see, ya did, Beller, ya did."

His boots scraped across the floor as he came to stand somewhere close by, in front of me. My mind said _cringe_, but my body said _what's the use?_

"I thought…I thought we'd take the money, escape to some little Mexican village or the Caribbean, Cayman maybe. Then, when I saw he might _actually_ be hired, and no one knew who he was, 'cept for me, I wondered…should you and I take the money and escape or should I…just do 'im myself?"

Closer he came, and my one eye opened a slit to look down on the pointed tips of his boots.

"Beller, do you even _know_ what type of man Edward Cullen is? Do you know what he's capable of? He stole the love of my life from me. Before you, that is. But all that doesn't matter now. 'Cuz I've just stolen his. And he ain't never gonna see ya again."

His punk-ass laughter started at the back of his throat, only to erupt into something just this side of madness.

My one functioning eye tried to squeeze further shut.

"I need to take a piss. Don't go anywhere, Darlin'."

He and his fucking laugh trailed away from me as he opened and shut the door behind him.

Sagging on the cuffs, I tried to slide one foot forward to hold myself up and not pull my arms out of my shoulder sockets, but I knew I didn't have much more in me. I didn't need to open my eyes as my chest held my chin. I didn't want to. Images of Edward flitted in and out with each intake of air through my snot-filled nose.

He would find me. He would. He _and_ Emmett.

It was all that kept me sane—repeating the words like a mantra. I only needed to hold on long enough, the awareness slowly seeping in that as soon as I lost consciousness, I would cease to be of any use. For whatever reason, I realized this was about breaking me, either physically or mentally, like one of his fucking horses.

He was neither going to break me nor the little bugger inside me. _My_ Bug.

Spittle ran down my chin as I tried to breathe through the gag, through the pain and stinging coursing through my body with each rise and fall of my chest. I couldn't look down. I couldn't even think of looking at myself, the searing heat of my skin where marks from each different whip he'd used still burned. My nipple pain was long forgotten, dulled, against the backdrop of my skin on fire.

Hurry, my King. Please _hurry_…

NO!

My head jolted up, my eyelids squeezing and fluttering to focus as I willed away unconsciousness.

_FUCK, NO. NOT giving up. NOT giving in. Not giving up. NOT giv—_

The door flew open again. It was all I could do to bring my eyes up, my one lid opening and closing with the effort. His goddamn smirk was still in place, and he had a beer in his hand that he took a drink from before he setting it on the table, his boot kicking shut the door.

As he walked toward me, his hand went to the back of his jeans. I could feel the one eye that wasn't swollen shut bulge as he slipped the gun out from his back and waved it in front of him, dropping it a bit to catch my eye line as he walked toward me.

"Time for somethin' a little different."

Oh, God… Oh, God, no. Not yet. Not…

"Tell me, Beller, ever been fucked by the barrel of a gun?"

I couldn't stop the noise that escaped me, as weak as it was, even as he lowered the gun following my sinking gaze, continuing to wave it back and forth in my line of vision as he reached just a foot in front of me.

"Oh, wait. You can't answer, can ya?"

I didn't have the strength to lift my head, but his hand was suddenly at my mouth. He removed the ball gag, and the pain of my jaw trying to close was nothing compared to the rest of my suffering. Even if I'd wanted to, answering him was out of the question.

"Nah, I didn't think so."

Closing my eyes, I steeled myself for what was to come. Of all the things I knew, of all that I had expected, this was not one of them. Even as it registered, I felt the cold metal between my legs slide over my pussy, and I instantaneously clenched my thighs as much as I could. My attempt at "Please, Jasper," was a barely audible whisper.

Maybe it had just been my lips moving.

His other hand flew up to my chin, forcing me to look at him through slitted eyes.

"Thing is, I don't wanna see your face anymore, but I do love the look of ya from behind." Suddenly his hand was gone from my chin, and my head bobbed as it fell. The gun was gone from between my legs, and the nipple clamps were ripped from my tits.

Air and spit rushed through my lips as I tried to breathe.

A split second later, there was the tinkling of keys, and the cuff around my wrist was gone. I could do nothing but fall forward into him as he worked to unlock the other one.

For two seconds I thought it was over…

Until he spun my body and threw me face first onto the bed. The once soft material now scraped at what I knew to be gashes in my cheek, and the weight of my body against the mattress sent tweaks of pain to my tits. My arms flew out at my sides, my strength all but gone, and any attempt to catch myself, to protect what bounced against the top of the mattress, was overridden by the pain shooting from my shoulders and down my arms. As the edge of the mattress jutted into the bend between my thighs and pubic bone, I sent up a silent thought, a prayer…to someone…anyone that would listen that Bug be protected. I prayed that the mattress was soft enough, that by mere inches that hard edge wasn't against my gut.

"I've always loved yer ass, Beller, but never more than right now."

Holy fuck. Oh please, God, no.

I had always been a survivor. My life flew by in snippets, all of my actions, reactions, misdeeds. I'd screwed many and appreciated few. It had been for my own protection. A cold heart can't be fucked with. A mind that was shrewd and one step ahead couldn't be caught unaware. I'd wrenched control from the moment I understood my predilections and never looked back. My dad Charlie's face appeared, the times at the shooting range where it had been just him and me, moments where he and I had actually bonded, his attempts at life advice comical at the time, the fleeting wish that he weren't a thousand miles away, that I had called him, told him what was going on…

A few seconds of wishing he and the entire Forks PD were looking for me.

Until Edward's face flashed in my mind.

"_Nothing will happen to you, Bella. I won't let it."_

I felt the corners of my lips twitch through the pinch of what I knew was dried blood. If I'd not been concentrating on breathing, I might've snorted. I'd lived to witness the moment when Edward Cullen, Mr. Fuckhawt Hair with emerald eyes, who saw right through me, who had a persona that screamed unyielding reserve and bend-to-my-will even as those infinitely kissable lips had run soft and tender over my body… had been wrong.

If only I could live long enough to throw _that_ in his face.

But as the jangle of an oversized belt buckle and the lightning-fast rip from the teeth of a zipper coming undone sliced through my reverie, my fingernails dug into the sheet beneath them as cold metal feathered my ass cheeks, my lower half flinching at the contact.

His voice was a whisper growl. "Such a fine, fine ass…" There was a sharp pull, and then I heard the rip as my thin strip of a thong tore away. "Betcha I can make ya scream now…"

His tone-deaf attempt at singing accompanied the cold metal now ridin' the crack of my ass. "And the girls say, 'Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy'…"

The waterworks ran down my cheeks as snot bubbled out from my nose. Words, phrases, whizzed through my head—things I wanted to tell to Edward, should've already told him, would never get the chance to say.

_I love you._

It was pure futility, as my body detached from my mind, knowing full well what was about to happen. There was nothing but resignation and acceptance that my King would be too late.

* * *

**A/N:**

I'm just going to go hide over… *points to the corner* there.

Thanks soooo much for reading, and reviewing if you so choose. Have a wonderful Christmas, or whatever holiday for which you and yours come together.


	13. Chapter 13

A quick thanks to JaspersDestiny, JaspersIzzy, Hammerhips, and AlexisDanaan for being soooo quick on this.

Enjoy…

* * *

**Chapter 13**

_I'm gonna die. _

The words were anathema to me. I'd never admitted defeat before, not on anything, not to anyone, and most certainly not to _myself_. Even as I felt the wiry hair on Jasper's thighs graze the back of my own, the lash marks on my skin stinging from the touch, an uncommon calm swept over me. Even as my fingertips tingled, aching to move down to my belly, to my Bug, my mind started to clear, and Edward's chiseled face rose out of the pain-fog, his emerald eyes like homing beacons to my soul. For one moment, a moment of reflection given focus from that face, I realized that for a mere blip on the timeline of my life, I'd had it: that elusive emotional bullshit contrived by Hollywood or Disney, or a handful of romantic dreamers.

Love.

"Damn, Beller, I'm so fucking hard right now."

The proof of that suddenly pressed against my ass.

**EPOV**

I watched as my brother picked the lock on the door, thanking God there was no deadbolt.

Emmett and I had arrived at the ten-story building, parking a block over if only to camo the car. While he fished an arsenal out of his trunk, hushed orders were given out to his men by a phone once again precariously balanced between his ear and his shoulder. Flashlights, cuffs, another gun, ammo all handed to me and shoved in pockets I wished were larger, more apropos for the situation.

For Bella.

I refused to concentrate on anything but the fact that she was still alive.

"Put this on." He tossed something that looked like a black life vest to me.

I caught it, "No," and threw it back into the car. I didn't want to be hampered by the thing. Not if I had a direct shot.

Not if we were too late.

"Bro…" Emmett adeptly put his on like he'd done it before.

My stare back at him and accompanying silence said all that my mouth didn't. Emmett's noncompliant glare lasted only momentarily until he started barking instructions again into the phone.

At least ten men were at our disposal, ten of Emmett's most trusted and _indebted_ associates. They were to post themselves outside and at every entry point, with just two following us. Only Emmett and I were going in until they were given a signal. One touch on his phone and his men would haul ass in after us. The interior of the building itself was a work in progress, the main floor empty and bearing the evidence and equipment of ongoing construction. Finding a stairwell was tricky, but we both knew an elevator would be a dead giveaway, not knowing just where, or into what, the doors would open.

On our initial drive-by, we'd both noticed barely discernible light slivering from behind what looked to be dark curtains in windows on the seventh floor.

"Of course it's the fuckin' seventh floor," I grunted to myself as Emmett and I snaked our way up the darkened stairwell, flashlights directed at the floor to minimize their glow. His glance back at me and befuddled expression drew my explanation.

"The asshole's actually an accountant who _likes_ Vegas." Emmett's mere shake of his head and eye roll were his only answer.

Now, as my back pressed against the wall to the side of a door, two of Emmett's men crouched at the entry to the stairwell we'd just ascended. There were only two doors on either ends of a long hallway. After Emmett pried open one to reveal an unfinished half of the building, we both knew the other one was the one we wanted. I glanced back at Emmett's men, surveyed the rest of the hallway, and then watched as Emmett silently worked his magic on the lock. At this moment, I couldn't be more appreciative of his skills, even if I didn't want to know where he'd learned them. Or why.

_She has to be behind this door. She has to be alive. _

A sudden click had Emmett's hand turning the handle and flushing himself against it as he slowly shouldered the door in. Both hands on the barrel of his gun, his arm held outstretched, he inched in as I followed.

_Or someone was going to die. _

**BPOV**

"Tell me you want me, Darlin'. _Tell _me." His voice sounded like what I imagined Satan himself would sound like, the sliding of his dick through my crack teasing out the last bit of my restraint.

"Go to fucking hell," I managed to breathe out, my palms impulsively gliding up the sheet underneath them only to clutch against what I knew was to come.

It couldn't end like this for me, not now, not when Edward and I, when we…

His one hand disappeared from my hip as his gut laugh belted out over the music and the rushing of my own blood through my ears, and with it wrenched a last bit of my willpower. My palms pushed against the mattress beneath them, attempting to twist my body to the side.

I would not die from that sorry excuse of a cock.

**EPOV**

Emmett slowly crept in, his gun pointed, and surveyed the room, each of us maneuvering in standard search and attack formation. But all either of us saw was what appeared to be a typical living room, low light coming from a lamp sitting next to an empty black leather couch and two chairs placed on either side of a fireplace. With one glance, he signaled toward a hallway, and as we approached, the faint sound of music came from it, a tune I'd heard once or twice before. It was an overhyped, half-assed homage to cowboys everywhere, and my blood began to boil.

In a flash of his gun, Emmett pointed to himself and then to the door on the right nearest him, and then motioned with his chin toward me and then to the other door where the music was coming from. Nodding, I moved into position as he did the same next to his door. With a slight duck of his head, he pressed his ear against his door, and I watched as his jaw tightened, his eyes widened, and something told me he'd heard Rose behind that door. Signaling three fingers, he nodded them off as we both kicked in the doors that were in front of us.

**BPOV**

I could taste the blood trickling in from the corner of my mouth as I rolled further on my side, breathing through the agony of each stretch of skin, each firing of ache my arm muscles triggered. Jasper's left hand, the one that must have been wrapped around his dick, flew to my thigh, his fingertips squeezing.

"Where do you think—" He was cut off by the bursting open of the door.

"Get your fucking hands off her, Whitlock."

Whipping my head around to see…holy fuck! Edward!

His gun was pointed at Jasper's back, and he glanced at me for only a moment but long enough to lock his gaze with mine. The look on his face changed from fierceness to…something – pain, panic – and then his determined gaze went back to Jasper, the gun in his hands outstretched even more, the cut of the muscles in his arms straining against the white of the dress shirt he was still wearing from the ball. I couldn't help but appreciate the whole Bond-thing he had going on, and he'd never looked more fuckhot—nor would he—to me.

The sound of a man's voice and screaming came from somewhere through the door. Edward's head flashed out the door and then back again.

_Who the hell—_

Emmett.

For a split second, I thought of Rose. If Emmett was here too, and somewhere else, then the other person _must_ be Rose, and she'd better be alive.

_Kick that fucking pixie-bitch's ass, Em. _

"Cullen," Jasper jeered out as his fingertips loosened on my thigh.

It was just enough for me to get to my side, resting on one elbow, my other hand falling behind me. I stopped dead when I saw what was in Jasper's other hand: a gun pressed against his stomach. He still had my one leg trapped, his jeans at his thighs. His stiff cock bobbed as he stood straighter, and my one hand ached to rip it off.

But then it hit me. In the five seconds or so that I played it out in my head, I realized there was no way he could shoot Edward. But I was a different story. As my eyes ran a path from the gun over his stomach to his face, I caught the slow rise of the corners of his mouth. And then my eyes met his.

_Pop him, Edward. Shoot the motherfucker._

"Get away from her, Whitlock, and I won't shoot your ass. And I _do_ mean ass."

It was like that day in my office when I'd opened the box with the headless swan. Time froze. Everything stopped, even that for-shit tune that was blaring seemed to fade away. My quick, panting breaths were the only reminder that I was still with it. Jasper's face had a look I'd never seen before, and I hoped to never see it again. Eyes wide, beyond maniacal, they left mine and stared straight out, that God-awful smirk growing as if a plot were growing in that fucked-up head of his. As I glanced back at the gun still hidden against Jasper's gut, ignoring the pain my moving had caused, I gasped as the realization hit me.

He doesn't give a fuck. He's going to kill _me_.

And Bug with me.

"Back up and put your hands where I can see them, Whitlock," Edward commanded from the doorway.

My eyes flew from the gun at Jasper's waist to Edward's and back again to the gun. Edward couldn't see it, didn't know it was there, but he wasn't looking at me. His gaze was fully trained on the back of Jasper's head.

I had to do something. Create a diversion. It was now or never.

"He has a—"

I didn't get to finish because Jasper's arm straightened out in what seemed like slow motion, the barrel of the gun pointed at my face. With some noise that sounded like a squeak, I squeezed my eyes shut just as a shot rang out, and something fell over my legs, the bouncing of the bed next to me enough for me to open them wide once again.

Jasper had faceplanted onto the bed.

The scream that belted out of me was enough to stop the fucking planet on its axis, to send dogs from a radius of 500 miles, and to drown out Big & Rich effectively shoving them both up a horse's ass.

The next thing I knew, Edward was sprinting across the room, tucking his gun in the back of his pants as he approached Jasper. I didn't know if he was dead or alive and I didn't give a fuck. I just wanted him away from me. I kicked my legs, squirming to get away, not caring about the pain it caused. But Edward had read my mind. As he hauled the piece of shit off the bed, I saw the blood trickling from just under Jasper's right shoulder. My hands pressed against the mattress through the fire and stinging to try and sit up, my one hand reaching for the metal poster, clinging with everything I had so I didn't take a header backwards. Edward pulled out cuffs from his back pocket, the clicking of one ring going around Jasper's wrist, the other around the table leg, and then he turned back toward me. The muscles of my one arm started to shake with the last bit of effort to hold me vertical.

"Bella!" Taking the three or so steps back to me in a blur, he was on his knees and in front of me, his hands caught in mid-air, hesitating to touch any part of me. "Christ…what did he…you look like—"

"Shit," I breathed out, no doubt finishing what he wouldn't have said. His meager attempt at a smile had me falling forward, barely able to bring my arms to his sides. Burying my face against the silk of his shirt, my lips to his collar, every slice through my tits and stomach against fabric burned. The blood I knew was all over me was going to ruin his beautiful shirt. But it didn't matter. My fingertips twisted as they found purchase and gripped for dear life.

Edward had found me. Saved me. Us.

"Edward..." It was a half-ass whimper through the salty tears stinging my one cheek, and I whispered it over and over again as his hands softly held my hips, one making its way to the back of my head, his fingertips gently holding me.

"I'm here, baby. I'm here."

The voice from the stereo suddenly went from a whisper to a scream, the next song in Jasper's sadistic mix roaring. Rev Theory's _Justice_ boomed irony, and I relished it and the man whose arms I was in.

Who'd given me justice.

"Get m—me…the fuck out of here," I grunted through the pain. I knew I was fucked up bad, the strength that had driven me into Edward's arms fading.

"In a minute. Just…relax." He breathed into my hair and placed a tender kiss against the side of my head.

"Bella…" he whispered as he placed another soothing kiss in my hair. "Fuck, I…" his voice grew gravelly, and my fingertips dug further into his shirt.

_Don't lose your shit, Edward. Do NOT lose your shit. _

"I thought he…I thought you—"

"Shhhh." The sound came through my teeth. "I…I'm ok." I knew it was a lie as I felt my body growing weaker, more relaxed.

His lips found my ear, softly skimming it. "I love you." His fingertips swam into my hair, caressing me. "Marry me."

At least…at least that's what I _thought_ he said.

_Did he just fucking…?_

Pushing against his ribs, finding renewed strength, my head pulled back just enough to see as his did the same. I was caught once again by those Fuck-Me-Emeralds and the poker face he was trying to hold as he got a good look at me and my one swollen eye.

_Of all the times for a proposal…_

"So you…" I struggled to speak, my one good eye blinking through it, "… s—save my ass and think I'm…j—just gonna walk down the aisle? W—with you?" I countered with everything I had, attempting a bitchy glare, which at the moment was probably more of a squint, and more painful for me.

He blanched, his neck pulling back even more as his eyebrow did the what-the-fuck thing. "Twice. I've saved your ass twice. I'm not waiting for a fucking third." The corners of that delicious mouth twitched, giving away his attempt at humor, before his eyes zeroed in, roaming my face. He couldn't hide the furrowing of his brow, the narrowing of his eyes. The concern was written all over it.

I didn't like the look.

So I slowly turned away, my chin finding his shoulder as he drew himself closer to support me. Closing my eyes, or eye, I attempted a deep breath that only wrenched a grimace and a hiss, which brought Edward's supportive hand back to the base of my head. His tenderness wiped away the pain as his fingertips lightly massaged me.

I mumbled as his fingers worked their magic, "If…if you want to get technical, it was Emmett who…" I opened my eyes to look out the door, wondering what had happened to Emmett and Rose, only to land on Jasper. He was awake, his free hand stretching into his boot…

It all happened so fast.

My hand flew to the back of Edward's pants, pulling his gun, ignoring the pain in my arm, and I pointed it at Jasper, taking aim as much as I could at his chest. The memories of all of those lessons learned with Charlie flooded me with confidence. The visions of what that rat bastard Assper had just done to me gave me the adrenaline rush I needed.

And I pulled the motherfucking trigger.

The recoil sent my hand flying upward until the gun dropped from my hand and onto the floor. Hearing the clank as it hit the concrete, my good eye squinted to find him, to see if I'd hit my mark, and settled on a hole on the left side of his chest, blood running down his skin. His body was still and splayed against the wall, his free hand with the gun he pulled from his boot palm open at his side.

As Edward pulled out and away from me to look back at Jasper, the searing pain of the movement sent my body forward. At the same time, Emmett yelled from the doorway, but whatever he said was garbled, lost.

"I l-luh..," I tried to whisper as everything faded to black.

~o~o~o~

"_Goodnight, my Angel, time to close your eyes, and save these questions for another day."_

"We just don't know, Mr. Cullen. Isabella—"

"It's Bella. _Just_ Bella."

"_I think I know what you've been asking me. I think you know what I've been trying to say."_

"Bella's been through a terrible ordeal, but she's holding her own."

"Doctor…you must do everything you can. Do you understand me? I cannot accept…I _will _not…"

"We are, Mr. Cullen. We are."

"_I promised I would never leave you. And you should always know. Wherever you may go, no matter where you are, I never will be far away."_

_Jesus fucking Christ, can't anyone get some sleep around here?_

The voices in my head were like Comiskey on Opening Day.

_Everyone, just shut the fuck up and let me sleep. _

And who the hell is playing Billy Joel?

~o~o~o~

Meep.

Meep.

Meep.

_Edward, hit the damn snooze. _

"It's touch and go right now. Why she's not waking up, we're not sure just yet. But sometimes, after something like this, the mind just needs to…recharge."

Meep.

_What the hell is that noise?_

_Who the hell is talking?_

_Wait, what?_

~o~o~o~

"Dad, it's me. Yeah…She's…she's still unconscious. Yes. Yes. No head trauma that we can see, just…Yes. Dad…come as soon as you can. Please."

~o~o~o~

"...detectable brain activity."

"Yes, Doctor, I'm aware. They showed me the scans."

"Talk to her. Let her hear your voice. Play her music, like you have been. Something that she knows, perhaps her favorites."

"Something tells me her favorites wouldn't be appreciated in the hospital, but I'll come up with something."

Edward.

That was Edward's voice. Talking to…a doctor.

_Am I…am I in the damn hospital?_

Like a seven-foot wave that crashed into me as I stood waist-deep in the ocean, it all came flooding back to me. Like the wind being knocked out, or a sudden blast of sub-zero air. The room, that bitch… _Jasper_. Each and every lash from every weapon he'd used, including his tongue, came zooming back. Those last few moments, Edward storming in…

My baby.

Bug! No one had said anything about the baby.

Meep…Meep…Meep…Meep…

Holy hell, I shot Jasper, and he was dead. Oh, my God, I killed Jasper.

I KILLED JASPER!

Edward! Please!

I wanted to scream but nothing came out.

"Bella? _Bella_?"

His voice was so close now. Why couldn't I open my eyes?

"I'm right here, baby. Right here. Open your eyes, Bella. Open them _now_."

~o~o~o~

"...remember when I came into your office that very first time?"

It was Edward again, but his voice sounded…funny. Like he had a sore throat. And the music…it was that song, that classical piece he had on that day that had stuck with me ever since. I still didn't know what the fuck it was called.

"You were so beautiful, you know. Took my breath away. You, the attitude, the sneak peak at the skin of your thigh. Don't think I didn't know what you were up to. So confident and so fucking beautiful. I knew what I wanted even as I sat there, knowing what I knew about you."

I could feel the bed move beneath me, and realized I was lying on my side. His breathy whisper was suddenly right near my ear.

"I knew I wanted to be inside you." He solidified his point with a kiss to my cheek, the bed moving again, his hand scooping up mine. I could now feel my other one over my stomach, hanging from my elbow and my arm at my side. Fuck, if I could just move it.

"You have to wake up, Bella."

_No shit, Sherlock. _

But something was different now, even as I moved my eyeballs behind my lids and a dull ache spread across my back. I teetered between attempting to open my eyes, to fucking move a muscle, and staying still to see just how much more emo Edward could get. His words were like a fire running through me, warming me from the inside out in an oh-so good way. Or maybe it was the pain meds. The fuck if I knew. Even as my brain started to function, I could feel my body come alive, the pain of what I'd been through nothing like it had been.

Forcing my lids, I tried to open my eyes. Someone had put tape on them, or at least that's what it felt like.

"Edw—"

"Bella!"

He squeezed my hand.

"I'm right here. Oh Bella, open your eyes."

Like opening a heavy garage door, I pushed and pushed, for once doing as he asked. As the light filtered through, I found the hair, the face, those million-dollar pearly whites beaming as I'd never seen them beam before. My fingers dug into his skin where his hand held mine, but all I could think of, all I wanted to know…

"B—baby. Ed…the baby."

His smile grew.

"He's as strong as his mother."

The wave of relief was so encompassing, I attempted a grin of my own, noticing something gooey on my lips as they stretched. Bug was ok. I was ok. And Edward was here.

"S—stronger," I muttered.

His soft laugh made me blink my eyes open more to see him. He was sitting in a chair, pulled up as close as possible next to the bed. Looking a little rough around the edges, his hair was literally a mess, as if he'd been tugging at it for days.

"You…l—look like shit." I managed, my throat dry and sore.

As if he knew, he reached around to the bedside table, grabbing a pitcher and pouring some water into a Styrofoam cup. As I got a good look at him, I realized he was in jeans and a light blue button down, the white shirt and suit pants he'd been in the last time I could remember seeing him completely gone.

"Here. Just a little at first, though." He drew the straw to my lips, and I sucked slowly, noticing a twinge of pain but wanting the water more.

"'Kay." He set the cup back on the table and leaned into me, taking my hand in his as he did so and kissing my knuckles repeatedly.

The questions started to fly. "H—how long was I out? How's Bug? R—rose? Em? W—what happened to J—juh—"

"Shhhh…" His finger softly touched my lips, and the memory of me saying the same into the collar of his shirt struck me like a lightning bolt.

"You were out for nearly two days. What Bug? Rose is in another room and Emmett's with her." His face changed suddenly to that fierceness I'd seen when he'd broken down the door. There was something about Rose he wasn't telling me. "And Jasper…"

His hesitation scared the shit out of me. "Rose. Jasper. Tell me."

Holding my hand to his lips, I watched as his eyes left mine and danced around my face and then lower, a deep breath sucked in through his nose before he let it out. "He did things to Rose he didn't do to you. Emmett nearly…I had to…" He stopped again. "Jasper's still alive, but barely, and under 24 hour surveillance."

Fuck me, Jasper was alive. And Rose…what did he…? With what Jasper had been about to do to me, I couldn't let my mind go there, not now. The look on Edward's face said enough, though. Two whole days I'd lost. Two whole days of Edward probably going out of his fucking mind. I cringed for any nurse or doctor who had crossed his path. Edward must have seen it because his palm came up to the side of my face, his fingers lightly pushing back my hair. "She's ok, Bella. At least, she will be, with time. Emmett hasn't left her side either."

Either. Yep, Edward had been here the whole time. Like anyone could've made him leave.

But Bug… "Bug is…the baby… what I called him, while…when…" He pressed a soft kiss to my forehead as I tried to hide the twinge of pain from my lips moving.

"He's fine. Doctor Meyer, the doctor here, and even my dad…" Edward paused again, his smile receding just as his brow furrowed that telltale way.

"'Cuz he's…made from…very hearty stock." My attempted laugh turned into a groan as my body let me know it wasn't a good idea, and as I tried to roll onto my back, it suddenly became apparent my entire torso was wrapped like a mummy. Edward's hand left mine and was on my hip so fast, I barely had time to move.

"Stay where you are, Bella. I know it must be uncomfortable, but just a few more hours and then you can try to lie back."

"H—how…bad am I?"

The rush of air that came out of Edward hit my face, the scent of coffee wafting with it.

"You're alive, and you will heal. That's all that matters to me."

"Don't you…d—dare…s—sugarcoat it, Cullen."

"I'll be taking full responsibility for tending to your wounds. There are ointments we can try…"

Yes, I was fully aware of all of the soothing ointments on the market for what had been my escape of choice. But none that I knew that would fully erase the kinds of marks I had. Or the memory of how they got there. I closed my eyes, taking as deep a breath as was comfortable.

"There's plastic surgery, after the baby is born as well."

I felt the dip of the bed as he leaned in once again. I opened my eyes a crack to see his elbows leaning on the bed, my hand once again being held within both of his. I could only imagine how I was going to look later on. The marks that Jasper had left on my back from the cane that first time would be nothing compared to what would be there now. How would Edward be able to look at me? To touch me? To…

"Stop it, Bella. Don't even think it," he growled low, causing me to open my eyes fully to find his, searching them for any sort of sign that he was just saying what needed to be said because I was flat on my ass. Well, not ass.

He leaned in further, his eyes never leaving mine. "You've never been more beautiful to me than you are right now. Alive and awake and carrying my child. Our child."

_Damn, the man had a way._

Suddenly, I remembered. Edward asked me to marry him. Asked me when I looked like roadkill, hanging onto consciousness, debating the technicalities of how many times he had actually saved me.

I slowly let me lips slide into as much of a grin as I could manage.

"Y—yes."

"What?" He ducked in further.

"My answer…is yes."

At first he had that what-the-fuck look on his face, as if I'd just confirmed the fact that I'd lost not only some skin but my marbles as well, but then he let out a tremendous gut-busting laugh as he sat back in the chair, one hand still holding mine as his other ran through his hair. I was sure someone, a nurse, was going to come running in.

"It wasn't a question," he sputtered through more laughter, and then came back to the edge of bed, that mega-watt smile once again ear to ear. "You're my life now. Both of you."

I closed my eyes, again feeling all of sudden drowsy, but I didn't want to sleep. I needed to tell him one more thing: those words that were just _words_ days ago but were now so much more. So insignificant as three little words, and yet more important than I'd ever understood.

"I l-love you," I choked out through the immensity of emotion and feeling that I had running through me, unshed tears threatening the corners of my eyes as I opened them to find his. "S-so much…"

He leaned in further again, taking my hand underneath his chin, prickly stubble tickling my fingers. "Ahhh, but my gorgeous, brave, intelligent, impetuous, stubborn, sexy, controlling fiance…" his eyes searched mine as his smile receded a bit, his expression growing serious, "…I love you _more_," he whispered with a gentle kiss on my nose.

"Mmmm," I muttered, through uncooperative, lowering lids. "That…sounds…like a challenge."

His soft chuckle was the last thing I heard before I let peaceful sleep claim me.

* * *

**A/N:**

*sniffs*

Welcome to the end of the first multi-chapter fic I've ever finished. lol! I hope you HEArs liked this ending, because I had a few tossing about in my head, one much darker than this. I just can't resist the hope, the pull that is the HEA. Thank you all for sticking with this, for reading, reviewing, and being along with me for this ride.

And yes, there will be an epi. ;)


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